The Sixth War
by Komina12345
Summary: Chapter 11 is up! Please R & R!
1. Chapter 1

(I do not own Type Moon or any branch or characters related to it)

Chapter 1- Memories

The Holy Grail War was over. All was returned to the way it was, yet Shirou could not shake off the feeling that there was something wrong, something ominous arriving. He could feel it, in his desk at his school. The classroom was filled with all sorts of people, many dressed in the droll brown uniform that mimicked the color of mud. The mud colored suits reminded Shirou of when he was face down in the mud, when the fire had struck, killing his parents in the second to last Grail War. The previous Grail war had its ups and downs, Shirou having met and fallen in love with the warrior Saber, created a strong bond with Rin, but yet Saber had to disappear at the end of the war. With this, Shirou was left incomplete. He had never been as happy as he had usually been. Though he had his usual helpful tendencies at home, the loss of his beloved, the one who he had nearly died for, was a hard loss. He looked down from the blue sky, his eyes saddened by these memories. From the side, Rin looked at him.

"Hey Shirou"

"Oh… Tohsaka. It's you." Shirou looked up to see a curious black haired girl staring straight at him with eyes that were usually piecing, though now tinted with a scent of symapthy.

"So what's the matter with you, Shirou? You look kinda…depressed."

Shirou looked up, trying to maintain a smile. "Oh its nothing, I was just thinking of…" The words failed to get to Shirou.

"Saber…isn't it?" Rin completed for him

"Yes….", he replied, his eyes looking down on the floor.

* * *

In the grassy field, a warrior lay in rest, the blue sky acting as the sea in the eternal paradise of Avalon. She had golden blonde hair, her eyes pure as any crystal. The warrior was dressed in an extravagant blue dress which very much matched the sky. As she lay sleeping, the memories of a young man flashed through her mind. The red haired boy who had risked his life countless times for her, even risked death against the king of kings. She couldn't leave him, not yet… Yet she was already gone from him, separated. The memories still rang clearly in her head, but she had lost track and count of how long had passed. Despite this, the memories still were as vivid as the sky.

_Two people stood at the edge of the hill as the sun began to rise. It's slow approach signaled a sadness, yet a sense of light and happiness. The golden haired girl turned to the boy with the fiery red hair. Looking into his eyes, she stared at him, her eyes tinged with something that could not be described as sadness. Emotions ran through her. Love, sadness, a sense of longing. In all this, she could only say this, "Shirou…I love you."_

The golden haired girl was brought back to her world, as she looked into the clear, silky sky. This was not happiness. It was incomplete and yet the closest thing she could reach out was her memories as she closed her eyes once again.

As she was dreaming, the sky suddenly started to thunder and the very blue sky had began to tint in away from the serene blue. The clouds turned a bloody red, the evil of the clouds seemingly grinning at her.

What magic was this? This was not normal, in the Heaven of Avalon and yet the sky had turned from the sky blue to a red, a red that reminded her of…

The warrior stopped breathing, recognizing all too well what she saw….

"No…It can't be.."the warrior whispered to herself.

The Holy Grail War was starting again…

It was time for the Servants to be called to battle again.

* * *

Shirou continuously looked up at the sky. It was beautiful a few seconds ago but now it was turning red as blood. He was not the only one to notice, as nearly the whole school was drawn to the windows to see this supernatural spectacle. Rin was next to him, her eyes wide with fear, as she knew what was to come…

"Shirou…" she whispered

"Yes?' he whispered in turn.

"It's starting again… The Holy Grail War….."


	2. Chapter 2

(I do not own Type Moon)

Chapter 2- Reality

The students watched in amazement as the sky suddenly turned from the blood red to an ordinary blue…

Shirou could only watch in awe at the spectacle that was before him. His mind was shouting to himself that this was not real. This couldn't be real.

Shirou felt a pounding in his head, a voice was calling him, slowly growing louder and louder with each call.

"Shirou…Shirou…Shirou!"

Shirou woke up, his head cocking upwards. He was back in the droll setting of the classroom once again. The droll classroom, the white walls all the same, not tinted with the red color of the sky. He quickly remembered what he had just dreamed, the red sky, the Holy Grail returning again…

He shifted his head the other way, only to see a completely normal sky, free of any blood stains in the clouds. Then, before he could even react, something whacked his head hard, bringing a sharp pain that rang through his head.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?!"

He turned around to see an angry Taiga, her eyes completely enraged, wielding a ruler in her hand.

"Shirou!! What's wrong with you and Rin? Did you two have a party until midnight?! I knew that this was coming one day! When Shirou gets lonely he gets to get a party, right?! So that's why you're so tired!!"

Shirou could only stutter as she kept mowing out the words from her seemingly endless mouth.

He tried explaining.

"I didn't party at all! You of all people should know that! You visit my house every day!"

For the rest of the class with everyone watching the amusing scene of teacher whacking the student at every pause, Shirou dealt with the ramblings and beatings of Taiga until the bell rand which released him out of the pits of Hell, and more importantly, from the constant ramblings of the Taiga.

A soft voice called him,

"Hey Shirou."

He turned around to see Rin, dressed in her red and black dress as usual.

"Hi Tohsaka."

"So Shirou, am I crazy or did we just have a same dream? You know, the one with the Grail.?"

Shirou was taken aback by her reply.

_So she had the same dream as well? What the…_, Shirou thought as he mused to himself.

He replied," Yeah, I had that dream, is it just a coincidence or is it actually….real?"

"I thought you destroyed it about 5 months ago" she replied as they walked out of the school onto the dirt ridden campus.

"Yeah, that's what I thought too…" he said.

Then a thought came to his head, part hopeful and yet part angered.

"Hey Rin, if the Grail really is back then what's to happen to us? I mean does it mean that we're involved again?"

She sighed, then looked at the ground,

Shirou appeared puzzled, but knew what Rin was approaching, "What's wrong?"

She replied with a type of sadness "I'm guessing so, but…I don't want to do it again. I don't ever want to lose so many close friends all over again…"

* * *

The sky started to rain over the city as the night came and conquered the day. Within the alleys of the city lay the underground, filled with an endless number of gangs and homeless just lying around. At the moment there was a fight between two rivaling gangs, resulting in a whole cacophony of loud noises, blood, and screams.

Out of the shadows of the crowd was a man, dressed in a richly fabricated black suit, guarded by two burly men. On his hand, he held a richly studded card, inscribed with an ancient code, the code of the illusionists from the lands of the Europeans.

The man lifted his hands, the bodyguards then nodding, pressing a button.

An explosion ensued, killing all within the area save the boss and his bodyguards.

He then threw the card within the charred bones and ashes of the men, whispering in a barely audible voice,"I pledge myself to the war, with my whole body and soul, my own heart and mind, my ambitions and my promises. So long as I hold this pact, I swear upon the laws of the Guild and upon the laws of the Magics. I offer my services and this sacrifice to embark upon my quest for the Grail. So as I call, arrive forth in my service as I bound myself to you…"

There was a blinding flash, crimson as blood that then resulted in a red miasma emitting itself from the very ashes and bones. The bones tingled and the ashes chattered as slowly, the mist manifested itself into a human shaped figure, now with streaks of black arriving forth.

Out of the aura came a man, dressed in red ornate robes streaked with black emblems, his face covered with an iron mask. He held two iron puppets by a near invisible string, only visible to the keenest of all eyes. His aura was deathly and the stench of death remained around him, and yet the man in black was chuckling, only smiling at what he saw.

The crimson man walked over the charred remains of the men, the bones and ashes crunching below his very feet under his iron boots, the red and black fumes following his path, hugging the bones. Upon arriving at the feet of the boss, the crimson figure crooked one knee, almost hesitantly, and spoke with a raspy voice heavily distorted beyond that of even a monster.

"Servant Caster at your service…."


	3. Chapter 3

(I do not own Type Moon otherwise I wouldn't have left FSN at 24 episodes)

Chapter 3-Deadly Encounter

Shirou was walking home as he was talking with Rin on the way until they stopped at a front door that looked very much like a dojo.

"Well, Tohsaka, I guess this is where I have to go. I'll see you tommorow."

She replied, "Sure Shirou, and I'll try to track down a cause of the problem."

"Bye."

"Good night Tohsaka"

As Shirou went inside he was confronted with the usual Taiga and Sakura inside, along with a little white haired girl named Ilya. He treated Ilya like a sister and so forth Ilya saw Shirou as an older brother, though Shirou was still having some difficulty accepting that Ilya was only one year younger than he was. _Appearances are deceptive, after _all, he thought to himself. Only recently had she told Shirou that Kiritsugu was her father and that meant that they were somewhat of brother and sister. Shirou walked inside as he greeted everyone.

"Hi everyone!"

Hi Shirou" came from each person around the table.

They talked on about the school day and how everything had went, Taiga specifically talking about how hard she had whacked Shirou's head, quite proud of the bruise and mark she had left behind. Every since Saber left a few months off, Taiga had reclaimed the name of the swordsman of the house and took no rest in flaunting her authority around, determined to repair her bruised reputation from Saber's visit by pummeling Shirou with every moment she had.

The dinner itself was quite different, as the table seemed to be one person down without Saber. Shirou could only think sadly at this thought. The official excuse for Saber's disappearance was that she had to return to England to study on short notice and was unlikely to come back for a while.

_Unlikely to come back_. These words crushed Shirou, but he maintained a calm face and continued to eat as if nothing had happened.

As they were eating, Shirou noticed that Sakura seemed a bit uneasy, as she hardly had touched her food and was only sadly looking at the ground with her violet eyes.

After dinner, after Taiga had left and Ilya gone to sleep, Sakura was headed to the front door, moving quite slowly.

"Senpai…"Sakura whispered from the entrance.

"Hmm?"

"I wanted to ask you senpai, at school did you have a….nightmare of any sort?"

Shirou eyes widened, his breath shortened.

_Wait, if Sakura saw the dream, and no one else but me and Rin also, then does that mean…No….She can't be involved in the Grail War…But how?_

Shirou tried to mask his emotions as much as he could,

"Ahh, well I did have a dream, but not a nightmare. It's probably only day dreaming, after all, it's Monday" he lied. _It's Wednesday you idiot!_ he shouted in his mind.

Shirou had expected Sakura to be calmer but she only looked more tense.

Then Shirou asked, "What's wrong? Was the nightmare really that bad?"

"No senpai, it was only… disturbing" she quickly whispered, her purple eyes looked on the ground.

"I don't mean to be rude or anything but do you mind telling me what you dreamed about? It's common knowledge that sharing your dreams with others is a way to calm you self" he lied once again.

At this Sakura seemed a bit more happier, and replied" Ok…." She breathed in.

"Well there was an old man, not an ordinary old man, but an ugly one but he seemed so familiar. He called me by my name and said to me that I was to be the death of all my friends, specifically the ones I care for…" Sakura looked a bit saddened again.

"Then he showed me flashes of many people I know dying…But not from other monsters, but from my…hands. And I was…laughing…" Tears started to form in her eyes and as Shirou saw her, he took her into his arms and said.

"There's no need to cry. Just stay cool and calm, it's just a nightmare and usually those don't come true otherwise Taiga would be raining sticks on me."

Sakura issued a wet laugh, her eyes still watering but having a sign of happiness on her face. Then Shirou thought.

"I'm sorry senpai that I'm bothering you with these childish dreams" she said.

Shirou replied, "Not at all! It's fine and letting these thoughts linger in your mind is bad for your health."

_She really needs some rest, maybe I should take her home_

"Ok Sakura, I think you need some time to sleep and calm down at your home. Do you want me to take you there?"

Sakura slightly blushed, but said,

"No senpai, I'm fine, but thank you for the offer" she said with a wide smile on her face, as if the nightmare had never occured.

"Good night senpai, I'll see you tommorow."

"Good night Sakura. Get a lot of rest."

"Yes, senpai. You too!"

* * *

Shirou lay in the bed, wondering to himself, still uncomfortable about what Sakura had said.

_Well she could be only dreaming but only a few months ago I found out that she was a magi, and her dreams could be as much prophecy as a dream_

As Shirou was thinking to himself, he was suddenly taken out of his trance by a loud knocking on his door.

_Knock, knock_

Shirou stood up and went down the hall way to the front door and opened it

_I wonder who could be here at this hour?_

Shirou looked up to see a long-haired man, his eyes a bright green, his hair a hazelnut brown, and extremely young, that many women would rip others apart just to see.

The man smiled brightly and said,

"Forgive me for coming so late this beautiful night, good sir."

Shirou smiled and said,

"Oh no it's ok, just as long as you didn't wake up my sister. So what's your business at this late hour?

The man looked up with his green eyes as if he was X-raying Shirou, giving him an uncomfortable feeling.

"Well, I'm looking for a man named Emiya Shirou, and many people at the mention of your name pointed at this house. I would like to confirm that."

Shirou was taken aback,

_Wait what does this guy want, and why is he following me? Either that or he's one hell of a devoted solicitor._

"Well, yes, I am Shirou,…"he coughed, "Emiya…Shirou."

"And if I am not correct you are Emiya Shirou who was the victor and destroyer of the Fifth Holy Grail War and the Grail itself, am I not correct?"

Shirou stopped breathing, his heart skipping a beat,

"Wh…what are you talking about? What nonsense is this Holy Grail?" he stuttered, still stultified by this sudden blow.

The man looked up once again, his eyes getting more and more focused and aggressive by the second.

"Don't play games with me, boy. I know about your little achievement and your war. You didn't think that the victor of the Fifth Grail would go unnoticed?"

"Ho..how…how do you know?" he stuttered, obviously shocked at the discovery that this unknown man knew about the last Holy Grail War, let alone even knew that it existed.

The man's emerald eyes looked up at Shirou with a menacing glare

"Well, my Master had told me to find you, as you know what to do to acquire the Holy Grail. I was hoping that we could reach a peaceful agreement over this rather than spill any unnecessary blood."

_Servant? Does that mean that the war is starting over again? The war me and Saber had fought so hard to stop? Where one too many innocent lives had been taken simply for it?_

Shirou felt anger welling up within him

"So you want me to bring back a vessel that had taken so many lives after I had just destroyed it to save this city? I don't know what your Master thinks but you can tell him just to forget about it. I refuse to do anything."

The man sighed and looked down, shaking his head in obvious disappointment.

"I was afraid you would say that. My Master had specifically told me to ask you to help us but I believe that he also told me that I had to kill anyone who didn't comply with his orders."

The man looked quite sad, but in an instant, he was clothed within a bright silver armor trimmed with black lining covering his whole body, a midnight black cape billowing from his armor, and under his armor, richly clad white tunic covered with a black layer of chainmail. Onto his armor was engraved an old medieval sign that Shirou recognized from his history lessons with the ranting Taiga, the sign of the old French Empire of Charlemagne.

From his hand, a long, black hand-and-a-half sword appeared, engraved with many markings of old Latin prayers.

"My master is quite a merciless man and I cannot understand him, but whose to say I was merciful in my life? I cannot disobey my Master's orders."

He drew his blade and prepared to strike.

"Prepare yourself Emiya Shirou for you will not live to see another day, lest you change your mind now."

Shirou knew he was in danger, but he had to ask on more thing to this mysterious Servant before he knew which weapon to select, to image.

"So I can say you're a Saber class, aren't you?"

The man chuckled brightly as if Shirou were an old friend of his,

"Oh, quite a good guess, but you're probably saying that because I don't have my steed with me. No, I am a Rider, a probably the last one you'll ever see."

As the Rider charged in a white blur, Shirou thought in his heads the words of Archer

_Shirou, remember that the weapon you image is your strongest form. If you cannot actually defeat an enemy, imagine it._

The images of Kansho and Bakuya appeared in his head, as the two blades appeared in his hands.

The servant seemed quite surprised and stopped midway of charging, and chuckled at the thought

"So you think you can defeat me with the Heavenly Twins? Hmm, quite interesting, young man."

He threw his head up and chuckled aloud,

"But I had almost forgotten, as common courtesy calls for, I am Count Roland, the very Roland who had given his life in service to God. And with that, we two as enemies know our names, and may have no regrets in dying from a faceless warrior. Prepare yourself."

Rider charged and sliced in the air above Shirou's head where he had ducked recently, cutting the front post in two. Shirou in turn attacked with no mercy, his two blades going as fast as the wind, slicing and hacking as Rider was forced to parry and block every move Shirou had made. But with a quick and surgical strike, Rider slashed downwards towards Shirou's head, as Shirou blocked it off, the blades breaking into a tide of black and white silver. Shirou quickly imaged another pair and used a skill he had learned over countless hours over practicing.

He threw the blades in the air like an arc, and watched as the blades acted as deadly boomerangs towards Rider's head, as Rider slashed off the two blades.

Shirou imaged two pairs of the blades and threw them towards Rider, who was proceeding to attack Shirou.

The blades hit Rider, but only one actually denting his armor. Rider glared at Shirou with his green eyes, obviously unhappy with the dent in his armor.

At this Rider charged straight at Shirou in a blur of red and silver and cut upwards, slightly cutting Shirou's face but sending him flying at top speed into his house. Shirou flew into the wall, leaving a large cracking hole, as he fell forward, his ribs and one arm broken, blood flowing freely from new wounds caused from the impact onto the wall. As he lay panting on the ground, blood flowing from his mouth, he knew he had been defeated quite quickly.

"Damn…"he coughed, "I lost…"

Shirou heard a brace of footsteps walking towards him as Rider looked down at the pitiful sight.

"So, you actually thought you could defeat a Servant? Not the smartest thing to do but quite courageous. I'll give you a quick death and your body no desecration." He raised his silver blade, ready to inflict the fatal blow.

Shirou thought to himself as images of Rin, the black haired girl who had helped him so much. Taiga, who had acted as a mother to him. Sakura, the sensitive girl who had entrusted in Shirou the trust of a sister to a brother. Ilya, his little sister he loved so much and saved her from the last War. And…the golden blonde warrior appeared in his mind…all the times they spent…the sacrifices…and then that night where they had kissed…

Shirou's blood dropped to the ground and as Rider was about to deliver the final fatal blow, an azure blue light shone in the ground, as the Rider was taken by surprise, shouting and cursing at the sudden appearance. A blur of blue came out and slashed Rider, who parried the blow with his own blade.

Shirou looked up and saw a warrior in a blue dress adorned with silver armor. Her eyes were beautiful and bluish green while her golden blonde hair was bundled up in a tight knot.

_Saber…_

Then the darkness as Shirou faintly looked at his hand, an emblem appearing on it, but before he could inspect it closely a blackness overtook Shirou as he only saw dark…

* * *

Saber had been summoned so quickly, and yet she had to leave Avalon at the first sign of the danger and desperation her Master felt when being attacked by this new Servant.

Saber sensed that Shiro had fainted,

She felt a moment of sadness then anger took the better of her as she started menacingly at the new servant.

"You are a Rider, am I not correct?" she asked, despite herself.

"Quite right, and I'm to say, I am quite honored to have actually met the most powerful class of all, Saber. Unfortunately, your Master was not as powerful!" Rider said with a grin.

"You will pay for what you have done to Shirou you knave!" she roared as she lunged straightforward into Rider, her invisible blade slashing and creating sparks from the ensuing clash within. She charged once more, with even more fierceness, the blades clashing to create a symphony of spark and steel. She cut upwards, only to be blocked by Rider again and again. Being pushed back, she charged at light speed towards Rider's legs. She slashed at Rider's legs as he quickly jumped and countered the blow by jumping high into the air as he soared straight down as fast as a bullet. Saber blocked the blow, but was pushed quite deep into the ground as she blocked the immensely powerful blow.

Rider jumped up on top of the roof of the Emiya Residence, looking down of Saber.

Deep in the ground, Saber was focusing her energy on the one thing she knew could defeat Rider,

_Exaclibur_

She knew she had enough energy to do it more than once as she had Avalon, giving her far more mana than in the last war.

"Rider!" she yelled, "Never had I met a Rider class having as much blade skill as you. Who are you?"

Rider looked back towards her, "I am Count Roland. I believe you are familiar with my sacrifices at the battle in France? And you, King Arthur, have you not sacrificed anything as well? You are well spoken of in our country"

Saber was quite surprised that he had known her identity with only a glance.

"How do you know my name?"

Roland chuckled again, "Oh please, my eyes were the sharpest in King Charlemagne's time, and they still are. I can see anything that is not visible to the human eye, including your fabled Excalibur, my fair lady."

Saber yelled back, "Then I guess that you really haven't seen what this blade will do to you!"

She focused her energy and called forth the blade, the blue and white tornadoes enveloping the blade in a ballad of wind and steel. The trees and air swayed to Exaclibur's tune as the blade materialized.

Rider had seemed to been amused by this, but simply said

"It's too early to reveal those, I say! Must we always go through killing each other as soon as we appear?"

Saber refused to change her gaze, her weapon still shimmering as brightly as ever. Not responding to the Rider, she send a charge of air towards him, causing him to lose his balance.

Rider looked up, glaring with menace in his eyes.

"Very well. If it is a battle you want, then I shall focus my power as well!"

He focused his energy in his blade, glowing along with the moonlight as his blade reflected off the bright starry night. The stars themselves seemed to sway to his blade as the wind to Saber's blade.

"_Eclipse Eternelle_..." he whispered as the moon started to darken, and absorb into his blade.

One blade was light and blue, absorbing wind while the other blade was absorbing the moon and stars in a song of black and white.

He was about to strike down until his eyes widened as if something had stricken him.

"A good duel, my fair lady but I have callings elsewhere now. I bid you farewell as my Master needs me immediately and a knight must answer his king's calls"

He took up his horn, engraved with gold and silver of the battles he had fought, blew on it with a sound of vigor and triumph, and within a moment he had disappeared in a quick blur of stars as the moon and stars had their color returned.

Rider disappeared so quickly as he blew the horn that it surprised Saber.

But other thoughts came to her mind as she knew that Shirou was still inside. She ran towards the red haired man and kneeled towards him. As she lay her hand on him, she focused her healing energies into his body.

The time for formalities and greetings could come later.

* * *

After his wounds had closed, she laid him in his bed, and looked on him with his red hair and his handsome features.

As thoughts ran through her mind of their love and past, she whispered,

"Such an unformal way to meet you again, but who can question it? You called me once as your blade, and your blade with protect you. The blade will always love its master, never leaving until death." She focused her gaze on him intently, stroking his face with one of her hands.

She stood there and after a while, sleep took the better of her and she lay her head on top of Shirou.


	4. Chapter 4

(I do not own Type Moon, as much as I wish I could)

Chapter 4- Reunion

Shirou felt he was laying on a soft, cloud.

_Is this Heaven? Did Rider kill me?_

Shirou opened his eyes to be met by a pair of azure green eyes.

For a moment, Shirou was dazed, too surprised by what he had just seen. With a short laugh/ whimper, he couldn't believe his eyes.

"S..Saba…Saber?"

Saber smiled as she looked at Shirou, dressed in her ordinary clothes.

"Yes Shirou. Your blood was the catalyst for the summoning this time. You were in danger and your heart called for me. I am here to stand by as your blade once again."

Shirou was taken aback, as he tried to remember what had just occurred that night.

_So Rider threw me into the wall, I broke a few bones, he was about to kill me, and then….the blue blur, the summoning of Saber to save me…_

As Shirou was thinking, the door suddenly opened.

In the door was Taiga and Sakura, standing right in front of the door, Taiga looking especially angry at Shirou.

"Shirou! Are you going to sleep all day? I had to eat your food for you!"

She then looked at Saber and back at Shirou.

Then with a burst of exclamation she said

"Ahh!! Saber you're back!!" she said in a semi happy/panic mode.

Shirou chuckled. He knew that everyone knew of Saber's infinite amount of food she always ate when she was hungry and yet Taiga was happy to see her again as she had befriended her in the previous war, the excuse for her disappearance being that she had to go to England for a while.

Saber smiled at both of them

"Hello. It is quite nice to meet you again."

Then Sakura said with a smile," So Saber, how was England?"

Saber looked puzzled for a moment and looked at Shirou, who made a type of apologetic look. She understood immediately and nodded at him.

"Yes, England was quite interesting, though I don't remember much of it because I was thinking of Shirou."

Shirou turned a bit red. That wasn't the response he was expecting.

Then Taiga said, "Well Shirou, aren't you going to school? You too Saber. In England there's supposed to be school isn't there? Sakura won't be going today though because she has to take care of Ilya. She just became sick all of a sudden! This is what happens when you don't eat your vegetables!"

Shirou was only slightly surprised. Ilya had been the vessel for the grail during the last War, and it was quite evident that she would be the vessel once again this war. But Shirou had to go to school and with Taiga's constant glaring, he put the subject to the back of his mind.

Saber looked at her new school dress. Shirou had only agreed to let Saber come under the assumption that given the last time Shirou had gone to school alone, he was nearly killed by Rider twice. Saber was sure to never let that happen again.

* * *

As she was about to leave, Shirou walked in front of Saber, and turned towards her.

Both of them gazed in each other's eyes, so much to say after five months. There was still that bond between them that transcended that of Master and Servant.

Yet in all this, Shirou could barely say anything, still comprehending that Saber, his one love in his life who he had believed lost, was standing in front of him.

"So Saber, what were you really doing there the whole time?"

Saber turned around, somewhat looking down with her emerald eyes watching the tiles.

"I was in Avalon…It was paradise but…it felt incomplete…I couldn't really stand the grassy green fields and endless bounds of the Heavens alone."

Shirou had some notion of what Saber was mentioning to.

Shirou walked up to Shirou and looked straight into her eyes. At this, Saber started to blush a little.

"Shirou…Why are you staring at me like that?"

Shirou kept his gaze. He had to say it now, what was penned up in him this whole time, the whole five months that his own world seemed to be disappearing but now she was here, with him.

"Because…all the time you've been gone I haven't been thinking of anything else but you. How could I forget the only one I actually loved as you?"

Saber started to blush even more, her face now quite red.

"Shirou…"she whispered.

Then unexpectedly, Shirou went straight to Saber and held her in his arms tightly. Saber was quite surprised for a moment but then she accepted Shirou and held him in turn. They stood there a long time, letting the sun shine through the door onto the floor, until they were caught by surprise by a yelp, a loud man that Shirou knew all too well. Issei stood there, utterly shocked and horrified at Shirou and Saber.

"Shir..Shirou!! Have you gone mad!? I was only coming to talk with you to school and I find you under the influence of a monster! No! No! First Rin and now this girl?! Shirou, you are falling too easily for everything!"

Shirou, still holding Saber with one arm around her shoulder only smiled at him and said,

"Issei, don't sweat it. She's my friend so I can hug them whenever I want. There's nothing wrong with it. After all, Rin hasn't stabbed me in my bed yet, has she?"

Issei's eyes widened, his pupils dilated. He then started at Shirou for a split second and went off dashing at full speed, screaming, "I'm the only one left, the sole survivor! What has this world come to?!"

Shirou chuckled at Issei, and told Saber

"Come on, let's go and get to the school, shall we?"

At the school, Shirou sat at his desk, next to Issei who had taken the liberty to dash all the way to the temple and get his special wards of "Repelling Lust" around his desk. With that, Issei only seemed calm now. Saber had to stay outside, as she had to be introduced to the whole class. Everyone was talking until Taiga came in and once again tripped over a wire, and much to her dismay, everyone shouted "Wake up, Taiga!" to her, resulting in her famous Roar.

When class had started, Taiga said

"Well everyone, now that school has actually started, I would like to introduce you to a new student! Everyone, say hi to uhh…" she turned to Shirou and whispered, "How do I say this?"

He replied, "Arturia Saber, I think that's easier than Pendragon isn't it?"

Then Taiga went back up and said, "Yes..uhh…Arturia Saber!"

Saber went inside, her hair let down, and upon her arrival, many girls were wide eyed and many other boys in the classroom completely head over heels, most of them, save Issei, having their mouths wide open in total awe of the beauty of the girl that had just walked in the classroom.

Saber noticed all the attention and said, "Hello, my name is Arturia Pendragon, but many of my friends call me Saber." She had never been called by her real name during her life except for her few friends, and left the luxury of that to her one and only, Shirou.

Saber sat down next to Shirou and smiled towards him, Shirou smiling back. Among the pure jealousy most boys had when seeing the obvious bond between Shirou and Saber, the day still went well for Saber. As they went through the lectures, Saber sat there, quite enveloped in what had been discovered since her time. She had discovered that the sun was actually the center of the universe, and everything went quite fine and the classes soon ended to let everyone go to the lunch break, with the boys and girls gossiping at Shirou's new girlfriend.

At lunch break, Saber followed Shirou around, trying to find Rin who did not have any classes with Shirou before lunch. And it didn't take long to find her.

"Saber! You're back!" a shout of happiness rang through the air.

Saber turned to see Rin, and she hugged her in return.

"So what happened Saber? How did you return?"

Saber told Rin about the Avalon, and the return of the Holy Grail and how Shirou had been attacked by Rider.

At this Rin said, "Well, I'm not too surprised actually. There was a recent news reports about a pile of ashes and bones found in the subway, along with an old card. This must've been a summoning."

Shirou replied, "So the war really did start over again, didn't it?"

Rin nodded, but was then taken aback by a sudden surprise. She held her hand in pain as a red glow emitted from her hand. Then a shout of surprise.

There was a command mantra on her hand.

Shirou and Saber slowly looked up a Rin in shock.

"Wait, this was the same mantra I had when my Servant was…."

Rin looked up in surprise.

Archer had returned.

(Ohhh. Catchy ending but that's where I leave off. I promise a long battle scene next chapter!!)


	5. Chapter 5

(I do not own Type Moon)

Chapter 5- Of Perverts and Bed Buddies

Rin looked in surprise at the moon-shaped mantra on her hand as Saber and Shirou looked, utterly surprised by what had just happened.

"Rin…Is that Archer?"

Rin seemed to be still stuck in her world, her eyes transfixed on the mantra and didn't respond.

"Tohsaka!" Shirou shouted.

She snapped back into the world

"Oh…Yes this is the mantra…But I never summoned him."

Shirou looked at Rin, thoughts rushing through his head

_So she's my enemy as well…_

Rin then looked at Shirou and said,

"Shirou, if Archer really did return then we must resort to the same tactic we did in the last war. Sticking together until the end will always work and then we can just settle between to two of us at the end of the War."

Shirou was surprised but smiled at the same time

"I'm happy that you realize that. Saber, do you agree?"

Saber nodded her head in agreement, and with that, the bell rung and they had to return to the classroom.

Saber and Shirou were about to return to Shirou's house, Rin having gone ahead to her house to check for Archer. The evening sun cracked down on the ground as Shirou and Saber walked together. Shirou looked at Saber, who was looking straight forward. Then, though with a little hesitation, Shirou slightly grabbed her hand. Saber stopped for a moment, her eyes widened.

"Shirou…" she whispered as her cheeks slightly blushed.

Shirou looked at Saber again with a grin, saying, "Well, it's only natural after all isn't it?"

Saber smiled at this too, though only slightly and held Shirou's hand in hers.

As they were about to approach the door of the dojo, a voice of a man called not to Shirou but to Saber,

_Definitely not Issei,_Shirou thought to himself.

He turned around. It was Karia Tomohara, an over arrogant boy who had pretty much earned all the hearts of the girls at the school but also was known to be completely devoid of any moral standards or obedience.

"Hey Artur—uh—Arturmana--um Arturimia. Aghh, screw it" he said.

Saber looked slightly amused at the poorly attempted pronunciation of her name but still responded

"Yes?"

Karia responded, grinning widely with vigor in his eyes " So, whatre ya doin with a guy like Shirou, eh? You know there are a whole bunch of better guys than him, you know. Kinda like me."

Saber frowned at Karia, saying, "I'm sorry to tell you, but my interests lie with Shirou. Please do not disturb us any longer."

Karia didn't seem to give up though, as he reached for Saber, specifically her bottom.

"Hey! Hey! Why so formal with talking, ay? You gotta have a looser side, don't you?"

As Karia reached Saber, he put his hand on her bottom.

Saber stopped dead, and as Shirou turned to her, he was utterly frightened at what was about to happen to Karia. Images of a Karia mangled beyond belief were rushing through his head.

Saber's eye was twitching, filled with complete fury at the complete disregard of her honor and her own integrity. Shirou looked at her face, knowing in his mind that as much as she let her defenses down against Shirou, she still held the pride and dignity that she had as a king many years ago.

Shirou tried to grab her hand, but to no avail as he grabbed what he thought was a small rock. He looked down and saw, to his horror, that her hands were clenched into a tight fist, the knuckles whitening at every second.

She said in quiet fury, "I'm warning you. Get your hand off of me. Now."

Karia laughed, saying, "Oh come on girl! It's only just a little flirting. Haven't you heard of that in England, hmm?"

With that, his hand on Saber tightened, only serving to infuriate Saber more as her hand now were white as bone.

And with one swift move, Saber turned and punched Karia straight in the center of the face.

CRACK

As blood flew everywhere, Karia was thrown back quite a distance for being punched by a hand, but then again, Saber was one of the legendary heroes of time. This was quite expected.

Karia, after standing up and stumbling, looked up, and looked into a car mirror, screaming.

"Aghh!! Look what you've done you monster!!"

His face was bruised purple, his nose completely broken.

Saber turned back, only saying, "I warned you."

They proceeded back to the dojo, Shirou not holding Saber's hand out of pure fear.

* * *

Back at the dojo, Saber was met by Sakura and Fujimara, who were both already starting dinner as Shirou and Saber arrived. Taiga looked up, and said

"Hi Shirou. Hi Saber. So how was your first day Saber-chan?"

Saber smiled, and said, "It was quite interesting. I've learned some things that I have never seen before."

Then Taiga said, "Well, that's good! Oh but Saber, I have a favor to ask of you. Can you accept it?"

Saber then said, "Well, it depends on what it is. If it is teaching, then I'm no good."

Taigia laughed, "No, it's nothing like that. We need a new teacher for our sword team. I figured since I've got teaching, you could teach the sword fighters. Is that okay?"

Saber looked at Shirou, who nodded approvingly.

Then Saber said, "Very well."

And as she picked up her chopsticks, along with Fujimara, the dinner table became a battlefield.

As they began to eat, Fujimara shouted,

"Ok! Let's go! I've made my skills in eating better from the last time we've met! Prepare yourself!"

* * *

Sakura and Taiga had left, Taiga still mourning over her loss to Saber in the dinner battle.

Taiga had agreed to leave Shirou and Saber alone as she had to take Ilya and offered to take care of her, despite all of Shirou complaints.

This left Shirou and Saber alone, and Shirou went to Saber, saying

"Well, I guess we have to find out who the other masters are, don't we?

Saber nodded and they walked out into the light, moonlight.

* * *

Rider looked down on the red-cloaked man who had just appeared.

"Archer! He's standing on top of the building!"

The red-cloaked man had two blades appear out of his hands, and with a swift motion, he threw the blades in an arc, suddenly having the blades split into four pairs, all heading towards Rider. As the blades were flying through the air, Archer jumped into the air, heading towards Rider. The blades hit Rider, who recoiled back, blocking with his sword. Archer appeared in front of him in an instant and kicked Rider in the face.

Rider flew back on the top of the building, slamming into the wall of the staircases with a loud metal thump. Rider glared at Archer, and with a lightning quick blur, he slashed at Archer with his black blade. Archer simply blocked it with his dual blades and spoke in his deep voice,

"To tear a mountain from its the earth, the sword splits the river in two."

The two blades transformed into two large wings, one black, the other white. He slashed at Rider, who dodged then in a flurry of swift sword movements, was able to hit Archer's arm. Archer drew back, blood slowly trickling from his arm.

Rider then said, "Well, well Archer, isn't this what you really expected? An Archer wielding blades against a swordsman like me?" He grimaced at Archer.

"Well Archer, it seems that your time in this Grail War was quite short. I'm sorry to say that I had to crush your dreams too early, but that's life. Prepare to die."

Archer looked up, and only smiled,

"You fail to realize one thing. You don't know my weaknesses, given that you don't even know who I am. Wasting a Noble Phanatasm like that will only result in your demise."

Rider stopped for a moment, thinking to himself,

_True, this man is unknown and he was still able to last in combat against me. Where have I seen those blades before?_

Before Rider could even think past that, Archer had appeared in front of him and in no time, Rider was attacked in a storm of white and black iron.

Rider fell back, hardly bleeding due to his armor, but still bewildered by this man's constant attack.

"Very well. I'll send you straight to Hell then" he muttered in cold fury.

He lifted his blade, aligning it with the moonlight as he whispered the words

"_Eclipse Eternalle"_

The moon and stars were sucked into the blade as the blade was surrounded in an aura and black and white. Rider closed his eyes, focusing his energy onto the blade. Then with a swift stroke, he whipped the black and white into a large torrent of black flame headed towards Archer. The flames ripped everything in its path, leaving behind crackling black in its craters. As the flames danced towards Archer, Rider raised his blade again, this time speaking in a louder voice,

"_Lune Celeste"_

The stars were released from his blade, standing in thin air, until the stars themselves were shaped like blades and headed towards Archer again, this time leaving white flames in the path. The two flames merged together, to form one giant black and white flaming tornado.

Archer looked up towards the flames headed towards him and raised his hand, and shouted,

"_Rho Aias!"_

A red shape of a lily formed within Archer's palm, instantly growing larger in size as it went to meet the flames of the stars.

The flames met the red flower, and in a blinding impact, all was covered in white and black as the whole section of the town was enveloped in white and black flames…

* * *

Saber and Shirou watched in surprise as a bright light went spiraling up from on top a building. Saber saw the light and immediately knew who was responsible.

"Shirou, it's Rider. That must be his Noble Phanatasm."

Shirou nodded, and dashed on forward

"Come on Saber, we have to get to the building now!"

Saber dashed after him, running down the curving streets and hills across the houses as her blue and white clothes were flowing with her.

* * *

The blinding light flashed to all as an old decrepit man watched the scene, chuckling.

Then he said, "Well, well. Isn't this going to be a fun war?"

The old man's face was revealed under the streetlight.

His face was extremely gaunt, too gaunt to be human and his features very much like one who had only skin over bones.

Besides him was a far taller Servant, robed in black, his face a pale white skull sewed onto his face, and his fingers replaced with sharp knives.

The Servant looked towards the old man, and with a raspy voice, muttered

"Master Zoken, what would you like me to do?"

Zoken looked up, and chuckled a hoarse laugh

"Well, well, that's the first thing you've said this whole war. Very well. Go see who's fighting. I'm sure the other Masters or Servants are going to be watching this. Go track down any Servants and make note of who they are. Go, Assassin."

Assassin nodded, and faded within the darkness, melding with the shadows.

Zoken Mato left and in his mind, knew what he was to do next.

He laughed with a raspy chuckle and said to himself

"Well Sakura. You are going to be an important person indeed, helping me win this Grail that those fools destroyed in the last war."

Deep within his mind, he saw the image of a purple haired girl.

_She'll be a sacrifice. Just like those other fools who I used to create the Grail._

The images of many Mages he knew also flashed through his head, one by one, their dead bodies appearing in his mind, only to melt back into his memories.

Then Zoken was brought back to the real world from his memories and walked down the street into the darkness.

* * *

Shirou and Saber reached the building, only to see a red-cloaked man fighting Rider at the utmost top of the building.

"Archer..." they both whispered

Then Shirou dashed up the stairs, saying, "We have to hurry!"

But before Saber could run, a loud shout of pain resounded from where Shirou had just went

"AGHH!!"

"Shirou! Shirou!" she shouted as she dashed down the hall, her blue and white dress being replaced with her armor and sword in a twinkle and sparkle of light.

Shirou came rolling down the stairs as a tall man covered in a blue armor appeared, his long hair into a ponytail.

He then looked at Saber with his red eyes and said, "Well Saber, aren't you happy to see me again? We never got to finish our match back then had it not been for that bastard Gigalamesh and Kotomine."

Saber's grip on her blade tightened as she glared at Lancer, then looked at Shirou.

Lancer saw where Saber was looking

"Oh, don't worry. I only kicked him in the head. He should be coming to about any second now. But now you're probably wondering how I'm back, eh?"

Saber glared back at Lancer

"The only thing I want to know is if your body can still withstand my sword!" she shouted as she ran straight at Lancer, wielding her invisible blade.

She swung straight at Lancer, who blocked the attack with his spear, then thrusted back towards Saber. The spear nearly hit Saber's head as it struck straight into the wall.

Lancer struggled to pull his spear out, as Saber slashed up Lancer's back.

Lancer cursed and screamed in pain, but managed to pull his spear out and angrier than ever, his spear started to glow red and started to steam.

"Well Saber, congratulations. You've pissed me off quicker than anyone in my whole life" Lancer said looking Saber with the utmost disgust and hatred.

He then shouted

_Gae Bolg!_

Saber prepared to block but never met the blow, as the spear went straight for Shirou. Saber reached for Shirou but before she could reach him, the red bending spear was thrown off course in sparks of red and green.

A helmeted knight stepped down from the shadows, wielding a giant axe black and green.

He lifted his blade, and in a voice that could not be recognized, he said

"Who are you? There's already one Lancer in this war."

The old Lancer glanced at the new Lancer who had just arrived and said

"I'm independent, I woke in this world without a Master, so I have no problem going around skewering the likes of you!" he shouted as he lunged like a wild wolf towards the new Lancer.

The new Lancer lifted his halberd, and struck the ground in a loud shaking impact as the waves resulted in cracks in the ground all towards Lancer.

Lancer stopped, then said, "Hell, this isn't fair. Two against one?"

With a scoff, he instantly disappeared in a flash of blue.

The new Lancer glanced for a moment at the blur then looked back down at Saber.

He looked at her for a moment, then simply disappeared as he melded back with the shadows.

For some reason, the way that man looked had seemed familiar to her, but before she could think, she heard a groan from the ground.

Saber then looked at Shirou, who was groaning, still unconscious. Saber kneeled down towards Shirou and with a bright white glow in her hand, Shirou started to awaken as she lifted him and carried him back to his house.

As she left the building, she glanced at the still smoldering top.

_That can wait for later. I have more important things to take care of._

She glanced at Shirou on her shoulder and in spite of the quick succession of events that had just occurred, slowly walked back to his house.

* * *

Archer and Rin were at the top of the tower and as the final wisps of smoke finally faded, they had found that Rider had disappeared.

Archer grimaced at the enormous crater that left the top of the building burning, then turned to Rin

"I don't think I've ever seen a Rider that could do that."

Rin was still frowning and said,"Well that's what we're going to have to expect out of this war aren't we?"

Archer nodded and said, "Well Rin, I guess it's time to return before others get drawn to this site."

Rin slowly nodded as well and grabbed Archer's hand, who then proceeded to jump into the air and glide through the night sky.

* * *

Shirou had just awoken in his bed, and looked up.

_What just happened?_

He then remembered, Lancer had kicked him as he was running down the hall, then that was as far as his memory went.

_So how did I end up here?_

He found the answer soon as he felt some weight on his chest. He saw Saber's head, her eyes closed.

_So she saved me again?_

Shirou gazed at Saber for a long time, admiring her flawless beauty under the moonlight. Guessing that sleeping in that position would be painful, he got an idea. He slowly took Saber, careful not to wake her up and placed her next to him in his futon. She turned a bit and muttered, but in the end, was under the sheets with Shirou. As Shirou went to sleep again, he felt a pair of hands holding his body. Shirou turned towards Saber saw her sleeping peacefully next to him, her head against his shoulders and as Shirou closed his eyes, he saw that Saber's eyes were actually opening, and saw her slightly smiling at him with a slight blush on her cheeks. She then closed her eyes again with Shirou and the two were together in an embrace for the night...

(Unfortunately, I must forgive if my action was too short but that's what editing is for. I'll have a chapter and see how Taiga reacts to two students in the same bed, eh


	6. Chapter 6

**(If you don't notice, Karia is just comic relief, not a major character so unless someone wants him to be a Master, he'll stay that way…. Oh and I don't own Type-Moon or Fate/Stay Night)**

Chapter 6- A Not So Peaceful Day

Shirou's eyes slowly opened as he felt the soft breathing of Saber on his neck. He turned to Saber, who was still apparently sleeping, and found that her arm was still around Shirou, so Shirou didn't move. Shirou looked at Saber, gazing down on the unparreled beauty she had, her gold blonde hair that was let done, her ey…

Before Shirou could think any longer, the door slammed opened to reveal a smiling Taiga who was already shouting,

"Shirou! Time to cook!" then she opened her eyes, to see two of her students sleeping on the same futon.

Shirou stood deadlocked, trying to wake Saber

_How the… How did she get in with me not even knowing!? Oh no… I must've slept through when she opened the door_

Taiga slowly looked from Shirou and the now awakening Saber, in a slow monotone, saying

"Sooo….You decided to sleep with Saber-chan, eh? Even when I said two students couldn't sleep together?" Her eyes were twitching now. She then took a deep breath.

Saber looked up, now awoken, and her eyes widened, her cheeks started to blush quite rapidly.

"Well Shirou" she said with an eerily sadistic smile, "I have a few things to say to you."

* * *

Karia was walking down the street, a white bandage around his broken and bruised nose.

He was quite humiliated to having a mere girl break his nose so his official excuse was that he had gotten in a car crash, though everyone knew he couldn't drive.

As he was walking down, he was suddenly stopped by a large booming noise, along with a large screech and a type of shout that sounded like Shibou.

He looked to the source of the noise. About…a block away.

_Wait! Is that a voice? Is it even possible for someone to shout that loud?_

He was still awestruck as he knew that Taiga lived with Shirou

_Wow, he must've really screwed up and gotten the wrath of the Taiga_

Karia was so awestruck with the might of Taiga's voice that he failed to notice the little kids behind him, riding their new motor scooters. The kids didn't know that Karia was there either.

Karia then turned around, his eyes suddenly opened in fear along with his mouth trying to utter something.

It was too late as a pair of boys and scooters flew in the air along with a boy in a school uniform, with more of his dignity broken along with a few bones in his hands.

* * *

Shirou was walking to school with Saber, one hand rubbing the many wounds that Shirou had received in his, what Taiga called, "a civilized talk". The other hand was holding Saber's hand. Shirou's tendency to take the heat for everyone even extended to in arguments when he took the blame for making Saber sleep with him. That let her off.

But Shirou learned to fear Taiga in rage, as he never knew a paper poster could actually give him a hundred bruises.

Saber didn't talk, still blushing, apparently feeling guilty about having Shirou take the blame. They walked on to school, no speech exchanged between them.

At school, Shirou was still seated next to Saber, but couldn't talk to her with Taiga glaring at him constantly during the whole duration of the class. When the bell for break finally came, Saber and Shirou walked into the field, and decided to sit down somewhere, holding hands as they did it. Their holding of hands had attracted quite a lot of attention, mostly negative to Shirou from the other popular boys. Despite this, Shirou was still happy with Saber, even with his multiple bruises. Shirou and Saber then found a bench to sit on.

"Shirou…"

Shirou turned to Saber, who was looking at the ground.

"Yes Saber?"

Saber then turned to Shirou, still slightly blushing

"I'm sorry if it was my faul…"

Shirou put his finger to her lips,

"No, it was all my doing. Don't feel guilty about it. I always have that tendency to protect others don't I?"

Saber smiled a bit,

"Well, you do love to protect others, that being a tendency I cannot get rid of."

They gazed at each other's eyes, staring into each other's heart and mind, Saber looking into Shirou's eyes and Shirou looking into Saber's emerald eyes. Saber then spoke,

"Shirou, I do realize that the whole time since the first war, you've been calling me Saber. That was only out of secrecy, but I am no longer bound to the old Ages of Camelot. If it isn't too much to ask, can you call me Arturia instead?"

Shirou simply smiled, saying,

"Of course...Arturia."

Arturia smiled back at him, moving closer to him.

The little connection was broken by a group of people approaching them, mostly the larger, popular boys.

They looked at Shirou and Arturia, then looking a Shirou, one of them asked

"So Shirou, having fun?"

Shirou smiled at them,

"Well, I've known her for a whi.."

Shirou was stopped mid-sentence by another boys who stuck his head straight into his face, saying

"Well Shirou, don't give me any crap about that. You seemed to have gotten a treasure too precious for you, aren't I right, Saber-chan?"

Arturia was by now intensely mad, that speech thoroughly reminding her of Gilgamesh

One of the boy's attempted to grab her, forcefully lifting her from her seat. By now, this little scuffle had attracted a huge crowd. Arturia then lifted her arm, and with a very powerful force, threw the boy away from him. The other boys looked at her,

"So we have a little resisting one here, hm? Well, I'll make sure of that never happens again."

He called up a few other boys and as their hands started to reach for her, Shirou came in the way, blocking Arturia from the boys.

It didn't take long for the boys to realize this, as within a few moments, Shirou was being buried in a sea of punchs.

As the crowd started to scream, Shirou kept blocking the punches until a foot came up to his face, leaving Shirou sprawling on the ground. But, before anyone could notice, a blue blur came up to the boy who had just kicked Shirou and in a moment, a loud punch and crack sent the boy flying across the field. Saber then turned to the other boys who were now realizing they weren't dealing with an ordinary girl.

"Cowards! Do you have no sense of honor in outnumbering a man?" she shouted.

The leader of the boys, whom she had figured out from the shouts from the crowd, was named Junicho, then turned to Saber,

"Whoa, whoa, calm down lady! There's no need to do that, I mean, it's not like we want to hurt you, right?"

Arturia was still glaring at him, her fists clenched tight. She heard Shirou get up behind her.

Junicho then went up to her, "Come on, just go with us? You'll have more fun!"

He then snapped his fingers as the other boys went to hold Shirou.

Arturia's eye's widened in pure anger, as she turned wrathfully towards Junicho.

"I'll never go with arrogant bastards like you" she said in cold fury.

Junicho didn't take well to this and went straight up to Arturia, his face nearly touching hers. He then whispered,

"So, you don't want to be obedient, right? I'll teach you obedience."

He raised his hand and in one movement, slapped Saber across the face, her face turned towards that direction.

The crowd gasped.

Arturia's eyes were not visible now, a red mark across her cheek.

Her fists were now undone, as Junicho proceeded to slap her again.

Another slap came, after another, as Shirou was struggling against the boys who were holding him back.

Then when Junicho was raising his hand, Arturia looked up, straight into his eyes. Shirou now feared what was to happen.

Junicho looked back at her laughing,

"So you've decided to go with me then?"

He started to laugh, but was stopped midway, as he was soon kicked straight in the crotch.

The crown groaned in pity as Junicho fell down on his knees, his eyes watering and bulging. Then soon after, a punch came flying into Junicho's face, far harder than what happened to Karia. Junicho was thrown up on the wall, his face black and bruised, blood sauntering the floor around where he had just been hit, along with a few teeth that had flown out.

The crowd was silent for a moment, until they started cheering in a loud chorus of

"Saber! Saber! Saber!"

She turned to Shirou, who was now free of the boys who had ran and taken their leader to safety. Her face was reddened from the slaps, but she was still smiling slightly at Shirou. Shioru stood up and walked up to Arturia. The bell rang for school to end, as the crowd quickly dispersed and she and Shirou were left to go. Shirou wrapped his arms around Arturia then looked at her face, cupping her cheeks in his hand.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do anything about that. How can I protect someone when I'm right in front of them?" he said, his eyes looking down in shame.

Arturia touched his hand on her cheeks,

"I'm perfectly capable of protecting myself. Don't worry Shirou. You've already made your sacrifice," she said, indicating to the red newspaper marks on his arms.

They both laughed and close together, headed towards their next destination.

* * *

Arturia and Shirou had to go to the afterschool dojo where Taiga had asked Arturia to teach. When they came to the front of the door, they went inside the dojo to be met with a large wooden room filled with little children swinging smaller swords. Arturia seemed to be quite taken by the adorable little children swinging their blades, but nevertheless, she soon dressed in the blue and white robes for fighting and stepped up to greet the children.

"Hello, my name is Saber, and your old teacher, Fujimara-sensei is a bit busy so for the time being, I'll be teaching you" she said with a smile.

She was met by a chorus of,

"Hello Saber-sensei!"

She seemed satisfied with this greeting and got straight into teaching.

* * *

Shirou watched as Arturia trained the little children, most of them doing quite morbidly despite their wild attempts to even hold the blade.

One of them, thought, was able to maintain a duel with Arturia.

A little brown haired boy with green eyes, moved quickly back and forth as the whole dojo watched him. For being a seven year old, he was quite quick. He attempted to hit Arturia's leg, who then blocked it, and with a swift movement, jumped into the air and tried to hit Arturia, who simply parried it, sending him lying flat on the ground.

He was panting, and Arturia went over to him, offering her hand. He accepted, and bowed before Arturia, speaking to her in his little voice.

"You are a master swordsman..I mean swordswoman, Saber-sensei."

Arturia was quite amused by his use of "swordwoman" and said

"Well, you do very well for a little boy like you. What's your name?"

He looked up,

"Ayako, Saber-sensei."

Arturia replied,

"Well Ayako, you should keep practicing. You have some natural blade talent."

Ayako was quite delighted, and smiled at Saber.

"Thank you, sensei."

Despite all that had happened during the day, Arturia and Shirou were met by Taiga at Shirou's home, who was indefinitely staying at Shirou's house due to the "incident" earlier. Sakura had stayed home, still caring for Ilya who was starting to regain consciousness, her fever decreasing. Over the table, the usual battle commenced as Shirou cooked…

* * *

Shirou went to bed alone, in his dark room, while Sakura had returned with Ilya in the other room. As all the girls slept in one room, Shirou slept alone, gazing into the night skies, pondering what was to come. He thought to himself, knowing that Saber had to disappear again at the end of the war. This reality still ripped him apart as much as the other war had. He had no desire for her to leave and despite his appearance that he had not been so much affected by her temporary absence, it still hurt him.

_I…love her. I can't imagine life without her._

Shirou looked up at the ceiling, unable to shake this thought from his mind.

_But then again, this is a different Grail War, and Arturia's duty finished._

Hopeful thoughts ran through his mind, as he tried to think of what possible solutions could keep Arturia this time, as she didn't seem like she wanted to leave. Last time was of her own accord but this time was different.

Shirou tried to think ahead, but was overtaken by sleep as his eyes closed and the world darkened before his eyes.

* * *

Rider looked over the city, his eyes looming over the tall towers and roads. He knew deep in his mind that he had the sharpest eyes among the servants, but that last fight with Archer, he had never suspected that he had to use his full potential to simply keep the man away from him. He sighed as he gripped his blade, preparing to jump. Before he could do so, a strong reverberating voice erupted behind him.

"Where do you think you're going, Rider?"

He turned to see a helmeted man in Gothic armor, his chest patched with the Cross. He was covered in a blue tunic, embroidered with gold lining. His helmet was closed, a red feather coming from the top of the helmet. Along with this, he held a giant axe, covered in green and black.

"Who are you?" Rider asked

The mysterious Servant laughed, "You don't need to know anything about me except that I'm a Lancer."

He raised his axe as Rider prepared to strike, his blade glimmering black and white.

**(I'll stop there today. Hope you like it because I feel this is a down chapter)**


	7. Author's Corner and Revival

So hey guys and girls! It's been a while since I've updated this but I'm looking forward to this with my newfound love of Fate/Stay Night once again!

I'm very thankful for your reviews in the past and I've felt terrible about leaving this story behind so I've committed myself to this story once again. Please bear with me.

And once again, I'd like to ask you guys two things:

Do you guys notice the line separations when I switch scenes?

Try looking up my poll as it may influence who I introduce next to this story

Thank you and with much regards,

Komina


	8. Chapter 7

_So guys and girls, here's my latest chapter after a year! I'm terribly sorry to those who have been waiting a long time, (however few people that may be) and wish to make it up to you! By the way, I have also edited my past chapters and suggest that those who have already read them, reread as it will make more sense to what is happening in this chapter. So without further ado, here is Chapter 7!_

_(Once again, I do not own Type Moon)_

Chapter 7- Shadow Rising

Shirou woke up to the distinct sunlight against his eyes, shining through his eyelids. As he woke up, he turned his head, almost expecting Arturia to be there, only to remember that she had slept in a different room.

Before he could think anymore, the door slammed open to Fujimara's happy face, exclaiming,

"Shirou! Breakfast time!"

Shirou sighed as he got up and dressed up, feeling slightly lost at what he was supposed to do now as his mind strayed away from his head. In his daze, he failed to see the door open to Arturia, bumping straight into her.

Shirou exclaimed in surprise while Arturia simply stumbled backwards. Quickly regaining his balance, he said,

"Ah! Sorry about that. How was your night?"

Arturia, also regaining her balance, looked up to him and said softly, with a ghost of a smile on her usually stern face,

"Taiga was quite serious about now allowing what happened yesterday to occur again. She didn't even allow me to sleep near your room."

Arturia coughed a bit, though she was not in the slightest sick at all.

"It was cold."

Shirou smiled as he took Arturia into his arms, holding her close to him,

"Well, I hope this keeps you warm."

Arturia's head was rested on Shirou's shoulder, where Shirou failed to see her face break into a full smile as she closed her eyes.

* * *

Unknown to Shirou and Arturia was the fact that Taiga and Sakura were collectively spying on them.

As Shirou held Arturia in his arms, Sakura could've sworn that she saw steam and flames emerge out of Taiga's head. Sakura didn't blame her, as Taiga had cared for Shirou like a little brother and naturally, she would feel the tendency to protect Shirou from "potential spiritual threats."

Sakura herself was not exactly upset at Shirou and Arturia together, but rather a bit disappointed. She had resigned herself to the fact that Shirou and Arturia loved each other and despite her relationship with Shirou, it would never go beyond that of friends.

Throwing her emotions aside, Sakura couldn't feel but the slightest amused at Taiga's undertone voice, cursing Shirou and Arturia for breaking her "law."

"Ohhh, they're going to get it. I don't care if Shirou wants to marry Saber-chan, but my law is law. Justice must be served!" Taiga said.

Sakura giggled as she calmed Fujimara,

"Sensei, please don't be angry at them. You can clearly tell that there's some love between them. I only think Shirou's stubbornness will only get stronger from here."

Taiga turned in wrath as she came to near shouting,

"Whaaaat?! Me, losing to Shirou's stubbornness?! Never! I will slap some sense into that boy!"

Taiga brandished a newspaper from seemingly nowhere as Sakura could only watch, a sweatdrop rolling down her head.

* * *

Shirou and Arturia were walking down to the dining room until they turned a corner, meeting a well-angered Taiga.

Shirou gulped in his throat as Arturia prepared to defend Shirou.

Taiga turned to Shirou, saying,

"Weeellll, Shirou, I do believe I called you for breakfast a good 15 minutes ago, didn't I?"

Shirou gulped again, stammering a "yes."

Taiga spoke again,

"So Shirou, what exactly were you and Saber-chan doing there?"

Shirou spoke,

"Uhh, I have no idea what you're talking about. We just said good morning."

Taiga sighed,

"What do I have to do to keep two students away from each other, let alone even sleeping in the same bed?"

Shirou was close to running away as he feared what was to come next. What came instead greatly surprised him.

"Shirou, do you love Saber-chan?"

Shirou stood there, stultified, along with Arturia, who was rapidly blushing in her cheeks. Shirou could only stutter,

"Well, uh, you see…uh…it's not really…uh."

Taiga let out a breath of relief, as she saw Shirou stutter.

"Well then! I can tell what that means!"

Shirou stopped stuttering and kneeled down, preparing to receive his punishment.

However, Taiga said,

"Well at least I know that you aren't with her just to get in her pants. Well, as your guardian, you have my blessings to do whatever you wish with Saber-chan, as long as it stays away from inappropriate actions."

Shirou looked at Taiga like she had grown another head.

"What?!"

Arturia whispered to Shirou,

"What did she mean by get in my pants?"

"Don't ask."

Shirou then turned to Taiga and hesitantly asked,

"Well…uh…thank you?"

Taiga turned around to Shirou, with a smile on her face and said,

"Don't count on my grace. I'm sure Kiritsugu would've loved to see his son finally love a girl. To be honest, I thought you were gay for a while, but this confirmed that I was wrong. Well, don't be late for school!"

Shirou stood there, his eye twitching at the completely random and unpredictable event that had just occurred at that moment. Arturia, on the other hand, was recovering from her blush, but still reminded Shirou that they had to prepare for school to meet with Rin.

* * *

Upon arriving at the school, Arturia was met with a new kind of reception. Some regarded her with a reverent awe while others, specifically boys, cringed in fear and covered their faces and crotches whenever Arturia got near. Nevertheless, Arturia had established herself as the hero of the school.

Throughout the classes, Taiga kept a close eye on Shirou and Artruia, though not as inspective and totalitarian as she was the previous few days. It seemed that she had accepted the fact that Shirou and Artruia were simply inseparable.

After the classes, Shirou and Arturia got to meet up with Rin during their lunch break,

"Hey, Tohsaka. Did you get Archer back?"

"Yes. I still can't put my finger on how or why but still, we started off immediately last night and managed to run into Rider."

Shirou looked up in surprise, incredulous at this sudden act of action,

"Rider? Is that where the lights and explosions came from?"

"Yeah. Archer was fighting against Rider, and we still managed to let him get away. He's nowhere near as strong as Saber, so if you run into him, he shouldn't be a problem" Shirou sighed in relief. _One less enemy to worry about_.

"Speaking of Archer, where is he right now? I have a question I'd like to ask him." Shirou said, the question coming to his mind. Shirou had many questions for Archer, whose cryptic message he left behind before meeting his death at Berserker's hands, had aided Shirou greatly in imaging weapons. However, Archer was nowhere to be seen in the vast schoolyard.

A hand came down as Shirou was hit on the head, causing a great ringing and discordance within his head, followed by a deep, cynical voice he recognized all too well,

"Behind you, you fool"

Shirou turned in anger, lifting his fist up as he turned around and prepared to face Archer. However, Shirou saw nothing but the air and the rest of the school ground gaping in front of him. Without warning, the air spoke again,

"You truly are as hopeless as you always are, aren't you?"

"Who's talking? What the hell am I even _talking_ too?"

The deep voice spoke again, "You dolt. Do you think I'd really come out in the open in front of all these spectators?"

Shirou finally grasped that Archer was invisible, simply turning around and sitting back down, sighing in disappointment at having been made a fool by Archer once again. He then spoke to what he still thought was talking air,

"Hey Archer, do you remember anything from before you got summoned?"

The nonchalant voice spoke once again, "I clearly remember the last war, though I still don't have any other memories besides that. I was simply summoned here from the Realm of Heroes. Pity that I had to leave such a wonderful place and fight in this tedious war once again."

A sweatdrop formed on Shirou' s head as he thought to himself,

_Just as damn sarcastic as before isn't he?_

As Shirou was thinking to himself, the bell rang loudly and harshly, recalling the students to return to their classrooms. Standing up, Rin said her goodbyes to Arturia and Shirou, while they went off to class once more.

_I'll ask him more questions later_, he thought to himself as he marched off to the classrooms, ready to endure the wrath of the Taiga once again.

* * *

After another toiling day, school was over and Shirou and Arturia were walking to the dojo, as Arturia had to teach again today.

"Hey Arturia, I think we should split up here. You can go to the dojo while I return home. After all, I have to take care of Ilya" Shirou said.

Arturia turned to Shirou, her face, surprisingly for the first time this whole war, stern and reminiscent of the Arturia that Shirou had known when he first met her,

"No, Shirou. Despite our own personal values, I am still your Servant and you are still my Master. It is essential that I stay with you at all times and though I'm sure you've gotten stronger, a Servant can still easily outclass you."

"Don't worry Arturia. I can still take care of myself. I'm not a child."

Arturia felt her annoyance rising, "Shirou! You don't understand! We don't even know who or what the other Servants are! Until then, we can't take safety for grated simply because this isn't a formal War. If at all, this is only more dangerous than before!"

"Ok, ok! I understand. There's really no need for all that shouting at all." Shirou said, slightly taken aback by Arturia's sudden aggressive response.

Arturia's face softened, as she spoke even softer, "Forgive me, Shirou. It's just that last time, you threw yourself recklessly in situations that would've killed anyone had it not been for Avalon. I just don't want you to throw your life around like that again."

Smiling, Shirou spoke, "Don't be sorry. I was the one being unreasonable."

Arturia returned the smile brightly, her face as radiant as ever. Shirou was enraptured in her beauty as he held her hand.

_Does she always look this beautiful when she smile? The last time I saw her smile was when she left. By God, she looks perfect. I wonder how she'd look like if…_

_Shirou suddenly saw Arturia in a white dress, her golden head covered in a veil, and her vibrant face smiling at Shirou. On her finger was a ring, and the background as well changed to that not unlike a church. _

"_Emiya Shirou. Do you take Arturia Pendragon to be your lawfully wedded wif…."_

Shirou was abruptly thrown back into his mind, trying very hard not to slap himself in the head.

_Bad Shirou! Bad Shirou! Too far! You're still in high school! Bad Shirou! What would Taiga say if she saw this? _

Ending the memory, Shirou returned to his world. As if on que, Arturia turned to Shirou, her face slightly red and blushing with a lightly surprised yet confused expression placed on her face. Shirou turned to Arturia, noticing her face.

"Shirou, you do realize I can still see parts and areas of your mind?"

Now it was Shirou's turn to be embarrassed as his face likewise turned red, if not redder, than Arturia's. Feeling the blood run up his face, Shirou stammered with his words,

"Uh..well..um..you see…uh…"

"…"

Shirou gave a half-hearted smile towards Arturia, almost fearful of what she would say next. Arturia still stared at Shirou with her confused expression, while Shirou could only stutter,

"Uhh..what…did….you think?"

Turning her head away so that Shirou could not see her face, Arturia whispered barely audibly,

"Shirou… You do realize that never in the history of the Wars has something as this happened before, let alone a feeling above mutual respect between the Servant and the Master?"

Shirou nodded very slowly, his fear and anxiety only getting worse with each second. All he was waiting for was the furious, chaotic rebuke at how foolish he was and how hopelessly love he was with her.

Arturia sighed, then turned to Shirou, showing her face. She was smiling ever so slightly once again, her let down hair flowing smoothly with her smooth face.

"Shirou, I hope you have another reason to live through the war, just as I have another reason to fight harder for a way to stay."

Shirou's mind was still comprehending this, unable to function or work clearly at the pure surprise at Arturia's response. _Had she technically accepted an indirect proposal?_ The truth then hit Shirou again. Arturia was still a Servant and there was a high chance she would be forced to leave again.

Shirou then spoke, "Arturia, don't worry. I won't leave this war without you." He took Arturia into his arms, holding her to his chest, placing his chin on top of her head while Arturia rested her head against his chest. The two stood there, in an embrace, letting the melting sun drop beneath the cool mountains and hills. After what had seemed like an eternity, they split apart, and hand in hand, headed once again for the dojo.

* * *

A distance away, a man plated in black, silver armor stood atop the building. Despite the magnificence of his armor, his armor was cracked in various areas and blood slowly seeped out of his right arm. Gripping his sword as a stand, he stood up with great difficulty, muttering in the process,

"How…how the hell did he do that?"

The man's memory rushed back to the night before,

_Rider stood atop the building, observing the vast lights and the flashes that illuminated the night of the city. As he prepared to jump down, a deep voice called after him_

"_Where do you think you're going, Rider?"_

_He turned to see a helmeted man in Gothic armor, his chest patched with the Cross. He was covered in a blue tunic, embroidered with gold lining. His helmet was closed, a red feather coming from the top of the helmet. Along with this, he held a giant axe, covered in green and black._

"_Who are you?" Rider asked_

_The mysterious Servant laughed, "You don't need to know anything about me except that I'm a Lancer."_

_He raised his axe as Rider prepared to strike, his blade glimmering black and white._

"_Eclipse eternalle!" he shouted._

_A black flow of crackling energy flowed out, whipping past the buildings and shattering any windows in its proximity due to the sheer force and speed of the black bullet. However, the Lancer simply lifted his axe and as if the black bullet were a cloud, absorbed it within his axe. _

"_What the…" Rider muttered to himself in cold fury._

_Lancer lifted his dark green axe, raising its head up in a great effort. In the air, the blade began to shimmer brightly, illuminating the skies with thunder and lightning. As the lightning gathered, it struck the axe very much like a lightning rod, as the aze absorbed the power and thunder. After a few moments, Lancer lifted his axe higher. For a moment, Rider stood transfixed at the sight, unable to decipher who this man was and what he was about to do._

"_Damn. My eyes are useless here" Rider said quietly._

_Rider lifted his blade up, preparing to block what seemed the inevitable strike. As expected, Lancer brought down his axe, cracking the ground with an enormous fissure as the thunder flowed through the cracks like a deadly ichor. Rider easily brought his blade and threw off the thunder, though not before the electricity flowed through his body in a shock. _

_Ignoring the pain, he looked up to face Lancer, but very much to his surprise, he was gone. Suddenly, Rider felt a change in the wind behind him and darted away, though not before a sharp pain and a warm spill of blood from his right arm. Just as he had dodged Lancer's first attack, Rider felt Lancer behind him once again, but couldn't move at all in midair. _

_Blow by blow, Rider felt each of the axe blows strike him in lighting quick succession as he was struck seven times in the few seconds he was in the air. Feeling his body failing him, Rider jumped away and far as possible, screaming, _

"_Luna Celeste!"_

_A white jet sped from his blade, striking Lancer, who was forced to block the blow. Rider took this moment to draw out his horn._

_Dragging his sword behind him, Rider thought to himself, I have no other choice. Life first, dignity later._

_Rider blew as hard as he could, as he coughed out blood in the process. He turned as his body began to transport, seeing Lancer still recovering from his attack. With his eyes, Rider finally managed a glimpse of the man who had just nearly destroyed him._

Rider was brought back from his memory, whispering to himself,

"Who would've ever known… The liege and the knight in the same war."

* * *

Arturia and Shirou were walking down the night ridden street, holding hands. The day at the dojo had gone as usual as nothing out of the unusual occurred. So far, the day had proved to be quite a restful day. As they finally approached Shirou's house, they opened the door, slowly creaking it open. As they walked in, Shirou fumbled for the light switch, snappig nit up with a click. What he next saw shocked him.

The floor was cracked and the walls of the house were literally torn as if someone had dragged a claw across the wall. The rooms were no better as they were all disheveled, and any furniture in it was ripped to shreds.

"Who the hell did this?" Shirou said, his voice barely containing his disgust.

Arturia turned to Shirou, her face once again stern, "I don't know but I can sense traces of magic here, though it's not any ordinary type of magic. Do you sense it, Shirou?"

"I don't know…I feel something but I ca…"

"Shirou!"

Shirou turned to see Arturia suddenly in her armor as she quickly swung her non-visible sword, deflecting a knife. Glaring at the dark room, Arturia waited for what seemed to be an eternity. Out of the dark of the room, three more flew as Arturia deflected all of them. Shirou took the opportunity to image Kansho and Bakuya in his hands, preparing his blades for any other attack. They stood both leering at the shadowy room, hearing footsteps come from within. Soon enough, they spotted a dark silhouette slowly walking towards them, his footsteps echoing and trodding in the room.

Arturia shouted out, "Identify yourself! Who are you and why have you done this?"

The silhouette continued walking towards them, as the light illuminated the face. The figure had black clothes on, her hair partially whitened, eyes a dark, cat-eyed yellow, and a few red marks and symbols across her face. Arturia's eyes grew larger as she realized who the figure was.

"Sakura!" Shirou shouted.

"Are you okay? What are you doing here?! What happened to you?!"

Sakura giggled maniacally, as Shirou spotted behind her two other figures.

One of them, the shorter one, spoke,

"She is no longer Sakura. Rather, she's my own trump card to this War. And because of this, I cannot allow you to live to see her. Sakura, Assassin. Kill them."

Out of the shadowy room, a black robed figure darted out in a black blur, pinning Shirou to the wall, while behind Sakura, a multitude of eyes and shadows shaped very much like limbs poured out from the room. Arturia lifted her blade, parrying the various strikes raining down from the shadows. In the mean time, the skull-faced shadow was still struggling with Shirou, who was desperately pushing and punching the shadow. Likewise, the Assassin was slowly trying to reach out to Shirou's next, attempting to pierce it with his knife-studded hand.

Shirou lifted his leg up and kicked, only to have Assassin dodge this attack. Shirou took this as his perfect opportunity and picked up his blades, charging straight for Assassin. However, the Assassin simply moved out of the way, and instead headed straight for Arturia's back, his blades aiming undoubtedly for the back of her head.

"Arturia!" Shirou shouted.

The world seemed to slow down as Shirou could only watch and attempt to run towards her, calling her name.

Arturia turned slowly as well.

_Stab_

Blood skirted Artruia's face as she saw the orange-headed figure, his left arm impaled with five jutting knives. Arturia could only watch as her eyes widened in fear. _Why? _

Without due, her senses returned to her as she slashed upwards in an invisible blur at the Assassin's arm, as it screeched out in pain, its hand falling in slow motion to the ground while black ichor stained the invisible blade, dripping from its side like an infected wound.

"Shirou!"

Shirou lifted his hand up shaking, signaling Arturia to stay away despite his condition. He quickly bent down, the pain surging through his arm as even more blood started the stain his shirt and trickle down in a small flow down his arm, and picked up his blades that he had dropped as well.

Now gripping the two black and white blades in his fingers, he said,

"I'm fine. But first thing's first. I can come later."

Arturia nodded, and turned towards her enemies: the old man, the Assassin, and, though it pained her to think so, Sakura.

The old man chuckled and spoke in his raspy voice, "Very good! I knew this was always going to be fun! Well, let's see how you like this then!"

Sakura prepared another set of eyes and shadowy blades behind her as Assassin, whose hand had instantly regrown, set up to attack again. Assassin's figure suddenly became blurry and shifted back and forth. It seemed as if the shadows were dancing in the room and the figure that was Assassin began to move ever so rapidly. All to well recognizing this attack, Arturia lifted her sword, still stained black, and prepared to charge. Before she could do so, a black shadowy limb surged towards Arturia, forcing her to block. Just as she had blocked the first one, more upon more shadows attacked Arturia. Shirou looked in shock as he saw the shadows originate from what looked like Sakura. Before he could charge as well, his attention turned towards the Assassin as Shirou's eyes widened with horror. There were seven different Assassin's where one had used to be, all poised to attack at any moment.

Just as Shirou had begun to comprehend the situation, an armored figure was thrown against him, who turned out to be Arturia. Lifting her up, Shirou glared at the shadows in hiding, as Arturia did likewise.

Arturia moved close to Shirou, their shoulders touching each other, Shirou's bloodied school uniform touching Arturia's cold, iron armor. Shirou, without turning his head, whispered,

"Arturia, stay close to me."

Arturia replied, "I shall. Don't leave me either, Shirou."

"I won't" Shirou said as they both charged towards the shadows, their blades blazing in the air towards the morose group in the dark room.

_End of chapter 7. I'm sorry this took so long and I'm even more sorry that the ending action might seem a bit choppy. But nevertheless, I write out of my own satisfaction. Let's see what happens next week!!!!!_

_Thank you to: nanohaxfate, Arielsan, Taeniaea, The Fan of Many Things, Hunter Jinn, MarksmanKNG, and Midnight-Moonlight Gal._

_You've all motivated me to write more and here it is!_

_Until next time_

_-Komina_


	9. Chapter 8

_Sorry for the long delay! Work and all is a bad thing. Anyhoo, thank you to:_

_Nanohaxfate-Thank you! I really appreciate the story that you've sent to me as well! I plan on finishing reading it soon!_

_Hignum-Your question will be answered sooner than you think (cough-this chapter-cough)_

_Sara haruko takenouchi kamiya-I'm glad that this is an instant favorite! I've attempted to put a role for Ilya here and I promise it will eventually get more important. And as for the other stories, yes, for this story I wanted to stray from the whole "Happily ever after" ending without any conflicts at all. With that, I tried blending a plot with the whole return story._

_Rayokarna-Blaise aXcess-Thank you! I'm really glad to hear that the characters are, well, in character! A little bit of everything is good, just like combination pizza! And I'm also glad to hear that I actually got someone to laugh a little!_

_Thank you for the reviews! _

_Without further ado, here is the long delayed Chapter 8!_

_-Komina_

_(I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Type-Moon) _

Chapter 8-Night and Day

Shirou and Arturia charged towards the shadows, shouting with their blades lifted in unison. As they approached, shadows darted and sped in black blurs from the room. Drawing her sword, Arturia slashed towards one of the shadows, cutting it clear in half as it dissipated in a cloud of dark dust. Wasting no time, she pivoted around and threw her blade around her, cutting the multiple dark figures as they screeched in pain.

On the other end, Shirou was facing the likewise problem as the very same shadows that had assaulted Arturia were also assaulting him as well. Shirou lifted his blades and slashed madly in all directions, drawing black dust from around him, along with a well ear-rending screech. Ignoring the ringing pain in his ears, Shirou continued to swing madly. As he continued to swing, he heard Arturia's voice shout of from behind him.

"Shirou!"

Shirou looked behind him as he saw the black figure charge at him. The world seemed to slow down as Shirou saw it throw multiple black knives towards him. Still in slow motion, Shirou tried to move his arms. To his great surprise, his arms moved far faster than the slow motion would allow him to, albeit slower than his usual pace. Brandishing his blades, Shirou blocked and threw his blades against the knives, only to have them divert directions before Shirou could destroy them.

Arturia could only watch helplessly as she saw Shirou's body get hit by the knives. Ignoring all the other external dangers around her, Arturia dashed towards Shirou, lifting her blade towards the knives, blocking them with ease as they simply deflected off the invisible blade. Almost instantly after she blocked the knives, Arturia felt a white, hot stab of pain in her back. Quickly turning, she saw the Sakura's shadows had taken the opportunity and attacked Arturia from behind. Blood gushing from her back and Shirou's body coated with blood as well, Arturia lifted herself up, knowing there was only one thing she could do.

The air around her began to slowly dance in unison as the invisible blade started to take form of a golden blue blade. She thought to herself, _Forgive me, Shirou, for the lives that may be lost, but I must do it_. The blade finally materialized as Arturia began speaking.

"Ex-," the shadows kept on coming as Arturia prepared to speak her final words.

A harsh discordant sound pierced the air as the sound of iron against iron rang in the sky. Arturia looked towards the noise, where a red-robed figure with a black-haired girl was now standing. In the red-robed figure's hands were two blades and multiple clouds of black dust around him.

"Archer!" Arturia shouted.

Archer looked up, "You owe us quite a lot, Saber. "

A ghost of a smile appeared on Arturia's face, though barely visible. Turning towards the now illuminated room, Archer imaged his two blades, throwing them towards the black-robed figure. As Archer was preoccupied with the mysterious figures, Rin ran towards Shirou, kneeling towards his inanimate figure.

"Saber! I need your healing powers!" she shouted out over Archer's battle.

Arturia ran over to Shirou, placing her hands onto Shirou's body. She closed her eyes as she focused her energy towards Shirou's body, drawing the power from Avalon. A bright blue light shone as Arturia felt the wounds close. Shirou moved slightly, his clothes still caked in blood as he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw being Arturia.

"Ar…Arturia? Are you ok…" he spoke before he was interrupted by his coughing.

"Ri..in?" Shirou said as he turned his head towards Rin.

Rin nodded, as she replaced her attention towards Archer, who was thoroughly gaining the upper hand over the intruders. Archer was finishing off the last of the clones, imaging the framework of a large, behemoth-like weapon. As the weapon took form, it mirrored Berserker's blade from the last War. Bringing the blade down on the clone, it dissipated in a dark dust cloud. Archer then turned his attention towards the last three figures in the room.

"Zoken Mato!" Rin shouted.

The old man turned, his distorted with fury.

"You!" he spat, "You ungrateful little wench! You dare fight against me after all I've done for you!?"

Now was Rin's turn to be furious, "All you did was kill those who I cared for in the war, and you still think I should follow you?!"

Zoken laughed a hard, harsh laugh that was not unlike that of someone who had gone completely mad,

"Your sister is doing fine and listening to me, aren't you, Sakura?"

He turned his head towards Sakura, who was still smiling with the eerie smile on her face. Zoken spoke,

"Now be a good girl and rid me of these nuisances," he said as he grabbed onto the black-robed Servant.

"Assassin! Get me out of here! Sakura, I want you to return to my area when you've dealt with these people!"

Arturia, Rin, and Archer could only watch helplessly as Assassin had disappeared in the blink of an eye, along with Zoken. All that was left behind was Sakura. Rin softly spoke to her,

"Sakura. Please stop this. You don't have to do this. Get control of yourself."

Rin walked closer, as she my eye contact with Archer before facing forward again. Archer nodded his head, understanding what Rin meant to do, while Arturia was left in confusion. Rin continued to walk as the shadows behind Sakura loomed threateningly. In an instant, Rin dashed forwards, her right hand turned into the shooting stance while a gleaming white orb formed at her index finger. The shadows suddenly went into motion, intent on skewering the approaching aggressor. At this, Rin shouted,

"Now, Archer!"

Archer dashed into motion, tossing his blades as they multiplied into six other blades, all deflecting the limbs of the shadows that approached Rin. Rin, who was now within a few feet of Sakura, shouted,

_Unterdrücke ich die Schatten deiner Seele!_

The light orb on Rin's finger fired as it made a direct it on Sakura's body. Sakura began to feel the effects of the shot after a few seconds, when her smile began to slide of her face, replaced with a depressed, despondent look. Collapsing on her knees, the shadows disintegrated, melting into a black goo on the ground. Sakura's eyes were no longer yellow, though soulless, and her hair began to take her natural tinge of violet. Tears began to stream freely from her eyes as she wept, her energy slowly flowing away from her body in the form of a midnight-black aura leaving Sakura's body. Finally, Sakura fell on the ground, unconscious with the tears still on her face.

Rin walked towards Sakura and lifted her up in her arms. She handed her unconscious body to Archer, saying,

"Take her to a room and watch over her," she said, now turning towards the injured knight and her Master, "Saber, I think the best course of action is for me to stay here, as you're too injured to fight at all." Arturia nodded, lifting Shirou into her arms, though limping herself from her injuries in her back.

Before she left the room, Arturia turned to Rin,

"Rin, what happened to Sakura?"

Rin looked at Arturia, a distressed look clearly portrayed on her face. Arturia did not know whether this look was from the number of the questions or the nature of the questions. Sighing, Rin finally spoke,

"That old man is Zoken Mato, my and Sakura's grandfather. I know you recognize him from the Fourth War, right?"

Arturia nodded, well remembering Assassin's Master. Rin continued,

"Zoken was never a kind man, always cruel and heartless, only showing kindness if it benefited him to manipulate the enemy. He is also one those who created the Grail Wars. How on Earth he lives this long escapes me, but all that I know is that he is most likely the one to have initiated this War. As for Sakura, he definitely did something to her, but my spell should have negated the shadow's effect, if only temporarily. Until then, I'll try to figure out what happened to Sakura. Get some rest, Saber. I'll repair the rooms with magic and explain the fine details tomorrow."

Arturia nodded, taking Shirou to his room. As she walked to his room, she looked down on Shirou, as if he was a child in a mother's arms. The ghastly smile appearing again, Arturia arrived at Shirou's futon, setting him upon the bed. Letting her armor disappear into her normal clothes, Arturia placed her hand on Shirou's hand, feeling it was cold. Without hesitation, she lifted the blankets to the futon, giving her enough room for her to be next to Shirou.

Shirou mumbled and rolled a bit, his arms landing on Arturia's shoulder while she moved in closer to Shirou, feeling his cold body. She gazed at his serene face, calm in spite of what had just happened. She thought to herself, _it's my turn to keep you warm tonight._

_

* * *

_

A great distance away, the subway of Fuyuki City was ever so silent. Many years ago, this subway had been abandoned and sealed off. Now it was a haven for those of the night, the gangs and the robbers. Among the subway however, the usually loud area was now silent. Bodies were strewn everywhere, many of them mangled beyond recognition as if they had attacked themselves. On the top of the stairs was an improvised throne, made from the bodies of those who were all over the subway. The walls were stained with blood, much of it smeared long distances across the hall. The blood traced all the way to the top of the "throne," where a man robed in crimson watched over the carnage, his baroque iron mask ever so emotionless. In his mind ran through memories, replaying the same carnage over and over again, much to his slight amusement.

_The boss looked upon his Servant, grinning widely as he saw this new powerful mage under his command. He looked on his hand, the three command mantras shining a bright crimson. His bodyguards, however, were not as ecstatic, nervously shifting their gaze at the tall, crimson robed man. His unnatural aura that emanated from his body almost made them sick, as if there were a great dark clog that had filled the air. As they were thinking, the boss turned to his Servant. _

"_Caster, I command you to…" _

_He never finished his sentence. His bodyguards turned to see a horrifying sight, as Caster had his right hand raised, the puppet contorted with its arm in its own head. They turned to their boss, who was, much to their horrification, in the very same pose, his arm stuck into his own mouth, suffocating him as his eyes widened in shock. Caster spoke in his metallic voice,_

"_I am my own Master."_

_Caster then turned towards the bodyguards, half of whom had already run away while the other half were stuck in terror, their guns pointed towards Caster. Then, as if some life were to sprout from within Caster, a red iris shone from his one right eye. Lifting both his hands, he moved the puppets without exerting the slightest force from his fingers. To their fear, the guards found that their arms were moving in the same motion as the puppets, as one of the guards fought against him arm which was now raising its gun towards the other men. _

_Screams and shouts filled the air as the men were collectively either by another or by their own accord. Swaying his arms around, Caster flung the men against the wall like ragdolls, staining the already dirtied walls with the filth of crimson blood. He then threw his right arm towards the door, where it slammed shut, trapping the other half of the guards within. The remaining guards cowered in fear in the corner, not even bearing to take the slightest glance of their now mangled comrades. _

_Caster looked upon the pitiful sight, a sight that left him neither happy nor pitiful. Releasing the tension from his fingers, the two puppets dropped to the ground. They began to grow in size as the puppets' features were now extensively viewable. Both had fingers as sharp as blades and their faces smeared with black paint. Moving of their own accord, Caster raised his arm and pointed towards the men in the corner._

"_Kill," he rasped._

_The two puppets, now almost monolithic in size, lumbered slowly towards the men, who had now resorted to either scratching at the door or taking shots at the puppets, only to have the bullets deflect harmlessly without even making the slightest dent. The puppets lifted their arms, as the men cried and wept in fear. _

_The hands went down and the screams were silenced as red stained the room. _

Caster remained seated on the throne, his eye now colorless and dull. Turning his head towards his two puppets, which were now covered in red and back to their normal size, he only gazed aimlessly. Suddenly, his head snapped up as he felt a flow of energy from afar. Sensing the inordinate amount of power that was flowing from the location, his eye gained its red iris once again. Leering in anger towards the direction of the power, he spoke in his broken voice,

"Welcome to the war, Berserker…"

He threw off one of his puppets on the ground, letting it stand up as it took the form of a blue-haired man, his eyes red with his hands gripping a red lance.

"Go and check who our enemy is," he spoke, barely audible.

The Lancer-puppet grinned as it jumped out towards the stairs, leaving to the moonlight of the city.

* * *

In the moonlight, a man stood, dressed in a dark business suit. His red tie flowed with his suit as he stood at the edge of the sidewalk. The man had long raven black hair tied into a ponytail. His azure eyes shone with a bright brilliance, matched only by the gem itself. Next to him stood a small boy, his hair also similarly as black as the man's.

Looking up, the boy saw the man in the business suit and asked him,

"When are we going home?"

The man smiled at the boy,

"We'll be home very soon, Master. Just allow me to see if there's any danger in the air."

The boy frowned, his eyes almost comically squinted,

"I _told_ you not to call me Master! It makes me feel all weird. Just call me Ayako, please."

The man answered with the smile still stuck on his face,

"Forgive me, Ayako. I forgot. Please excuse this foolish knight."

Ayako returned the smile, then asked,

"What's your real name? Because Lancer sounds like a funny name, and I don't think your name really is Lancer."

Raising his eyebrows in amusement, he replied,

"You're a bright kid, Ayako. But you don't need to know anything else other than that I'm a Lancer. If you really must know, then use one of your command spells," indicating the cross-shaped red marks on Ayako's hand.

Ayako looked up questioningly,

"But I thought you said never to use them for useless things."

"I did indeed, but I felt that if you really wanted to know, then you could simply force me. Other than that, I'm afraid that I can't tell you my identity," Lancer replied.

Lancer knew that all Servants were obliged to tell their identity, but his Master was a boy, let alone one who was not intended to be a Master in the first place. Ayako's father had died in summoning him, and in his death, the command mantras still had not made the final binding pact and latched itself onto the next living thing in the room that was not a Servant: Ayako. Lancer knew that this young boy, though strong willed, could not stand the mind interrogations that the other Servants and Masters could impose on him. In this, Lancer felt it was safest to keep his identity as secret, despite all of Ayako's objections. He could not bear to fail his Master again, not after his last life, where he had been one of the major causes in the fall of his king's empire. That could not happen again, now that his liege was now in this war as well. He was not about to fail again and once he would get the Grail, he would undo those things in the past.

Returning to the world after his thoughts, Lancer made a final check and sensed no danger as he held Ayako's hand.

"Ayako, let's go back home, ok?"

Ayako nodded eagerly, jumping onto Lancer's back as Lancer jumped into the night, leaping from building to building.

* * *

The Next Day

* * *

The sunlight shone on Shirou's face as he was woken with a start. Shirou felt an arm around his chest as he looked at who was holding onto him. Much to his surprise, he faced Arturia's sleeping face, still as peaceful as last night. As his mind began to comprehend the situation, he remembered what had happened last night.

_Sakura! What happened to her?_

Shirou suddenly went up with a start, as Arturia slowly shifted in the futon, waking up. Yawning, she looked towards Shirou, noticing the anxiety on his face.

"Shirou. Archer and Rin came to our aid yesterday and Sakura is back to normal for now."

Shirou turned to Arturia, the bewildered look still stuck on his face.

"For now? What if it happens again?"

Arturia looked down, her face darkening.

"Hopefully Rin will find a way. Speaking of which, she's in the kitchen right now. I believe you should thank her for her aid."

Shirou nodded and got out of the bed, his body still aching where he had been hit the previous day by Assassin. Offering his hand to Arturia, he lifted her out of the futon as they walked to the kitchen together.

The kitchen was filled with the waft of frying food as Shirou's nose went crazy from the scent. Spotting a long black-haired girl at the stove, he walked towards her,

"Tohsaka, is that you?"

Rin turned around, her smiling,

"Ah, Shirou! I see you're awake. Let me finish this and then I can explain what happened last night while you were unconscious."

Turning back, Shirou seated himself at the table, where he faced the stony-faced Archer. Archer merely gazed up from the newspaper he was reading before snorting and looking back down. Frowning, Shioru sat himself next to Arturia on the other side of the table.

"You are fortunate that my Master found it in her best interests to save you," Archer spoke without looking up from the newspaper.

Shirou replied, "Well isn't that a given? After all we are allied with each other."

"No, not allies. Simply two teams working together for their own ends."

"Isn't that the definition of an ally?" Shirou countered.

Archer now looked up from his newspaper, his eyes stern with a tint of annoyance. As he opened his mouth, a cup went flying towards Archer, striking him squarely on the forehead. Thrown back, Archer lay on the ground, swearing and rubbing his head.

"Archer, I thought I told you not to argue. We have to stick together." Rin spoke, another cup threatening to be thrown from her hand. A sweatdrop formed on the back of Shirou's head.

Grumbling incoherently, Archer went back to reading the newspaper, his eyes focused once more on the black text. Arturia spoke up,

"Rin, where is Taiga?"

"She's not here right now, since today she has a teacher's meeting. Sometimes stealing the teacher's schedule list can be useful," Rin replied, grinning.

Another sweatdrop formed on the back of Shirou's head.

Moments later, Rin set down the food in front of Shirou and Arturia, who took no time to begin eating. As they were eating, Shirou looked up and asked,

"Tohsaka, how is Sakura?"

"She's fine. She should be in the same room as Ilya. Anyways, Sakura should be sick for a few days because of my spell but other than that, she's fine. The only thing that worries me is how long my spell will suppress the darkness in her. I still can't pinpoint what is causing this," Rin replied.

Now speaking to the whole table, Shirou spoke,

"Who attacked us last night?"

Rin answered once again, giving the same response she had to Arturia the night before, explaining how Zoken Mato was her and Sakura's grandfather, along with the Servant Assassin, who had injured Shirou.

Shirou nodded once again, understanding what the situation was.

"Then we'll have to find out what's wrong with Sakura as soon as possible. In the mean time, I guess we have to place spells around this house again," he said.

"Already done, along with repairing your room," Rin replied.

Smiling, Shirou thanked Rin and stood up, ready to walk out. Signaling to Arturia,

"Well, I guess we have to search for the Masters today, don't we?"

Arturia nodded once in consent and also proceeded to stand up. Rin stood up as well, preparing to leave,

"Archer, watch over Sakura."

Archer simply looked up into Rin's eyes and said,

"Got it. Don't you do anything stupid either because I don't think I can waste time again to save you."

Archer as thrown back as a shoe hit his forehead squarely, leaving as red heel shaped mark, while Shirou watched with pity forming for Archer and his poor forehead.

* * *

Walking through the bright, sun-filled city, Arturia, Shirou, and Rin passed by the many variety of stores and restaurants. Along the way, Arturia recognized the clothes and doll stores that she had went to with Shirou, bringing back fond memories. Shirou seemed to remember as well, smiling and catching Arturia's gaze as they passed by the stores. Rin, who seemed to understand the significance of the shops as she was the one who had coordinated the date, simply kept a slight smile at the two making hopeless doe eyes at each other.

Despite this, they did not forget their original objectives and went from building to building, trying to sense an aura of magic from the buildings. However, none was spotted so far and they were left as clueless as they had started. When the clock hit noon, the three decided it was time to head to lunch, as they went towards a sushi bar.

"Saber, you've never tried sushi before, have you?" Rin asked.

"No, I haven't Rin. What is this sushi you speak of?" she replied.

From that point on, Rin and Arturia went into a long winded discussion about sushi, shifting to how fish were a delicacy back in the age of Camelot, and somehow to hamburgers and French fries. By the time the discussion had ended, even Shirou's saint-like patience was threatening to meet its end. Finally the three stood up, walking into the sushi bar while Shirou's mind rejoiced its freedom.

* * *

Back over at the dojo, a white-haired girl clad in a purple night gown shifted in her bed. Slowly opening her eyes, Ilya shifted her blurry vision around the room. She turned her head left then right, spotting a violet-colored hair girl, lying not too far from her. Upon further viewing, Ilya recognized the girl as Sakura, Shirou's friend.

Ilya was about to close her eyes once again when they darted back open in surprise. Quickly lifting herself from the bed, she sensed an aura emanating from Sakura. Whispering to herself,

"I know this aura. Only the Holy Grail has this power. Wha…How did she get it?"

Ilya remained wide-eyed at Sakura, keeping her distance. Within moments however, the aura retracted itself, leaving Sakura without the scent of her aura. At all this, Ilya felt a headache as her fever threatened to return. As if on queue, the door slid open, revealing a snow colored hair man clad in red robes. In his deep voice, he spoke,

"I see you're awake, Ilya."

Ilya simply stared at the Servant, unable to comprehend how on Earth he had returned. As if reading her mind the Servant replied,

"I am indeed the Archer that you killed in the last War. However, my Master finds that you are quite harmless now that you are not a Master."

Ilya continued to stutter,

"Ho..how are you back?"

Archer simply sneered,

"Another nice old Grail War started and dragged me out of my rest. You've been knocked out for quite a while to have missed all of this."

Ilya's eyes were now twitching as her headache took the best of her and having never been one of a strong mental endurance, Ilya blacked out once again, leaving Archer the only conscious being in the room.

"Well, well, I guess it was too much for her to handle," Archer said, with the smallest chuckle following after as he went on to place the towel on Ilya's forehead.

* * *

Shirou, Arturia, and Rin walked out of the sushi bar with their hunger sated. Arturia was still not satisfied with her hunger but was filled enough to continue with their task. As they continued onwards towards the street, a small figure went up to Arturia, calling her name,

"Saber-sensei! Saber-sensei!"

Arturia immediately recognized the little boy as Ayako, the quite adapt student at her dojo. Following behind him, however, was a man in a black business suit. His head was turned towards another direction, probably looking behinds him. Ayako went up to Arturia,

"Saber-sensei! I didn't know I'd meet you here! Have you met my brother?"

Arturia smiled at the little boy,

"I didn't know you had an older brother. Where is he?"

Ayako's grin widened even larger in excitement,

"He's right behind me." Turning to the man in the suit, whose head was still turned towards the back, Ayako tugged on his sleeve, "Hey, brother, this is Saber-sensei, my teacher at the dojo!"

The man looked down, speaking in a questioning tone,

"_Saber_-sensei?"

The man looked up, meeting eyes with Arturia. His eyes widened as he immediately recognized the face. His mind began to fill with a torrent of emotions: guilt, anger, pride, and most of all, sorrow. He wanted to move back, but his feet remained rooted to the ground.

Arturia's eyes also widened upon making eye contact with the emerald-eyed, long black-haired man. Knowing all too well the man she saw, a flow of memoires went through her mind.

_A young man kneels before Arturia, his blade tip on the ground with both his hands on the pommel._

"_I swear allegiance to the King Arthur and the everlasting kingdom of Camelot."_

_The memory continues to flow as a behemoth of a man trots in on his gargantuan green horse. He shouts out,_

"_I dare a man to come challenge me and cut my head off with the axe! Come King Arthur, or lest you are a coward?"_

_Arturia's face flooded with red as anger took the best of her. Proceeding to grip the axe, another man steps up and takes the axe instead. Smiling at his King, he says,_

"_A king does not need to bother himself with such menial tasks."_

_The memory flashes to a court, where the black-haired man is shouting out in anger, refusing to back down. He is face to face with the King, while his anger shows no restraints. The King, however, remains reluctant but finally consents to the man's desires._

_The final memory hits Arturia as the same man, his features and his long black hair ever so noble, lies dying on the beach. His hand reaches up for Arturia, only to have it fall slowly to the ground, lifeless._

_His last words still ring through Arturia's head,_

"_Forgive me, my King…Forgive me, my liege for I have failed you…"_

Arturia returned to the world, her mind still transfixed. Rin, Shirou, and Ayako looked confusingly from the two people standing and staring at each other as if their gaze were to never break. The tension between the two seemed to solidify like ice, as Arturia finally managed a whisper,

"Gawain?"

The man replied, his voice somewhat composed yet slightly surprised,

"My King…"

_I think it's a good place to end the chapter here! I'm sorry for the delay before but this week was utter hell on my account. I hope this makes its up and with winter vacation now in progress, the chapters should be coming quicker than ever! As always, please enjoy yourself with the reading and don't hesitate to leave a review!_

_-Komina _


	10. Chapter 9

_Hey, I'm really sorry for the long delay! I made a promise I'd see this through and though my updates may not be surely on time, I'll try my best._

_Thank you to:_

_Himeka1010-I'm glad to see that you're waiting for an update! I apologize for the late update!_

_Hignum- I hope you can clear up who Gawain is in this chapter! =)_

_M117Master- I tried adding a bit of romance here and here it is! I'll try more later and yes, I am honored to hear the you are willing to translate to Spanish for me! It's always a pleasure to see people enjoy my writing, even though I don't think too highly of my own writing! -_-_

_Without further ado, here is Chapter 9!_

* * *

Chapter 9- A Knight's Choice

The silence between the two seemed to solidify as the rest of the people could only watch as the air seemed to freeze. Arturia was still standing, her eyes still widened at the sight of the man in front of her. The man, though, seemed to display little to no emotion at all.

Shirou looked between the two silent warriors and proceeded to open his mouth, saying

"Uh…Arturia? Do you know him?"

Arturia was still stultified as the memories rushed through her head like a virus, touching the most painful and poignant memories.

_Arturia found herself in an ornate court, filled with her subjects, the Knights of the Round Table, watching her. Remaining with her ever serious face, the knights were carousing and playing around despite their king's near emotionless stature. Feasting and reveling took place around the room as the sounds of celebration rang in the castle. The warm light of the torches seemed to illuminate and repel the cold that was in the snow outside. Arturia couldn't bear to crack a small smile, despite herself. Deep in her mind though, she was more at calm than she ever was, the quests and the trials put on hold during the Christmas festivities. _

_Returning her attention to the table, Arturia heard a loud crash. She diverted her attention to the black-haired man who was now standing back up, regaining his feet balance. As he stood up, he turned to Arturia and said, _

"_Forgive me my king! It seems that I may have slipped on an unholy ham. Would your lordship allow me to finish it off?"_

_The knights around him roared with laughter at the giddy young man, as Arturia replied,_

"_Of course, Sir Gawain. Why not finish this unholy ham you speak of."_

_Laughing, Gawain picked up the ham and proceeded to eat it but not before a loud crash was heard from outside, nearly causing Gawain to choke on his ham. _

_The crash rang throughout the castle, bringing about a silence that seemed to flood over the hall. While her men dazed at the direction of the crash, Arturia, ever vigilant, placed her hand on the pommel of her sword, ready to draw at the first sign of attack. From within the hall, a slow plodding was heard, the cobbles of the floor striking against what sounded like the hooves of a horse. Soon enough, a dark silhouette was spotted in the dark hall. Most of the men remained steadfast while the servants cowered in fear, as the silhouette was quite enormous, suggesting that the man riding it was either a giant or simply wearing enormous armor. _

_The people in the court continued to watch as the first vestiges of the silhouette were finally revealed by the firelight that illuminated the room. What the men saw was either extremely horrible or very amazing by any standards. _

_A green horse plodded into the court, armored in holly green armor. It snorted and whinnied loudly, the mist forming from its large nostrils. Upon it was a large, gargantuan man, his body covered in nothing more than pant breaches and some light leather armor, which, very much like the horse, was green. His eyes, however, were that of a red scarlet, piercing through his long, shabby hair that covered most of his face. _

_Looking upon the awesome gaze of the man who had walked in, he plodded up the hall, towards the king, dragging behind him a large, ornate axe. The axe itself was just as magnificent as the man and his horse, of not more. It was covered with iron ivy patterns and was coated with a beautiful sheen of shamrock green. _

_As the man approached, the knights quickly formed a perimeter around their king, drawing their swords. The man stopped before the knights, staring at them with an intense glare and spoke in his deep, resounding voice,_

"_I mean you no harm, King of Knights. I am simply known as the Green Knight and only come with a seasons greeting and a challenge. You see, I have come here from the Green Chapel and have traveled all this way to simply test the courage of the renowned Knights of the Round Table. I only come with the challenge of courage to your King."_

_The Green Knight raised his finger and pointed towards Arturia and boomed in his stentorian voice,_

"_King of Knights! My challenge is simple. Take this axe which I hold and strike a blow at me. If it is not sufficient to kill me, then allow me to return the blow later on."_

_Silence gripped the hall as many of the knights though in their minds whether the man before them was simply mad or suicidal. Arturia, however, remained silent and refused to move. Her eyes were firm and still fixed on the Green Knight. Speaking in her strong, firm voice, she replied,_

"_I do not see such a point in a pointless challenge. If it is combat you seek then I shall do so but I will not participate in this useless game of yours."_

_Her gaze remained fixed on the man, who simply scoffed loudly and shouted out,_

"_I never knew the Knights of the Round Table to be such cowards! Your courage and reputation truly is nothing more than pure fallacy! Is this truly your king, a pure coward who only boasts of kingship and courage? All pure lies! You're better off giving that Excalibur of yours to me!"_

_In an instant, the knights were thrown into outrage, their anger seemingly reverberating towards the hall. Many knights drew their blade s and menacingly approached the Green Knight. Before any action could be taken, however, Arturia raised her hand in a gesture to stop._

_Her visage stoic as she stood up and stepped down to the Green Knight. Her face calm and emotionless, Arturia spoke in a reverberating voice amidst the silence that consumed the hall,_

"_Very well, I shall accept this childish challenge if only to prevent you from insulting my knights any further."_

_The Green Knight scoffed and said, _

"_So at last, you finally step up? Take this axe here and land your strongest blow."_

_As Arturia was about to grip the axe, another loud voice rang through the hall._

"_No, my lord! I shall handle this craven heathen in your stead! A king has no need to dirty his hands with the blood of an idiot!"_

_The whole court turned towards the knight who had just shouted: Sir Gawain._

_His black ponytail flowing behind him, he stood in front of Arturia and looked into her eyes. In that instant, as if an invisible conversation had been spoken, she consented and handed the axe to Gawain. Turning to the Green Knight, he lifted the axe high and shouted to the Knight,_

"_Here is your wish!"_

_The axe was brought down and blood sprayed the floor. The large green body stumbled to the ground and all seemed to be relieved. Despite the temporary respite, gasps filled the hall once again as the Green Knight's body stood up and gripped its head as if nothing had happened. From its head, the Green Knight spoke, _

"_In December, you shall come and receive your returning blow, lest you lose your honor! Remember this Sir Gawain!"_

_With that, the headless body mounted its horse and stormed out of the castle, leaving many bewildered at this sudden turn of events._

* * *

_Months passed as Gawain slowly prepared himself for the trial. When at last the time came, he left the castle, receiving many a farewells as there was a small chance he would return alive. From that moment, weeks passed as people began to actually fear that Gawain had died. _

_Arturia herself felt the smallest fear and worry for her knight. However, she never let her emotions get the better of her and remained confident that Gawain turn up. Within the space of two weeks, a ragtag man in armor came through the gates. He looked vaguely familiar yet his armor was rusted, with a green sash tied around his waist. The most notable feature, though, was his gargantuan axe that had once belonged to the Green Knight. _

_Arturia stood up at this knight and spoke,_

"_Fellow knight, may I ask who you are?"_

_The ragtag knight looked up, his face all too familiar with a tired expression. _

"_Do you not recognize me, King Arthur? It is I, Gawain, who has returned."_

_The hall remained silent for a moment before the cheers came and rang through the halls. In the whole celebration, everyone was focused on Gawain and no one saw the slight smile that cracked across Arturia's face at the safety of her vassal._

* * *

The memories stopped flowing as Arturia was brought back to reality once more. She was still staring in shock at her knight, her former vassal. Yet all she could manage to say was,

"How..how did you get her?"

Gawain looked down, his eyes filled with shame. Yet his voice remained strong, with a tinge of sadness and regret.

"You know well why I am here, Arthur, or rather, Arturia. I come here to change the past and prevent suffering from ever happening. You of all people should know this."

Arturia eyes widened. She knew that what Gawain sought for was banal and fruitless, having learned that lesson herself at the end of the previous War.

"Gawain…stop now. You cannot change the past. I have already learned this" she whispered, unable to look her knight in the eye.

Gawain opened his mouth to speak, before he stopped. In response, all he replied was,

"I see. Our goals are different and with that, we cannot let the past linger. For now, we are no longer vassal and king but rather enemies on the battlefield. Remember that next time, Arturia Pendragon and do not let the past hinder you for it will only lead to your demise against me."

Turning back, he took Ayako's hand and walked into the crowd, leaving Arturia stultified while Shirou and Rin looked towards the same direction of the man who had just left. Thing were truly getting more and more complicated.

The walk home was silent with Rin having gone ahead and Arturia unable to speak more than a few words, while Shirou could only be enveloped by Arturia's sadness. Gazing mournfully towards her, he all well knew the pain that she felt. Being forced to fight those you loved, the ones you swore to protect. These emotions were all too familiar to Shirou. In spite of this, Shirou turned to Arturia and slowly yet deliberately placed his hand with hers. Arturia slowly gripped his hand in response and walked forwards.

The walk home continued in silence until Shirou broke the solid ice silence that had wrapped around them.

"Arturia, you're not alone."

Smiling to her, Shirou continued to walk with Arturia, who was gaining a phantom of a smile on her face. In a soft voice very unlike her, Arturia replied,

"I still remember when you told me not to cling to the past, but it seems that the past is clinging to me now."

"I'll be there to ward it off. For once in your life, trust me and don't do things alone," Shirou said.

The evening sun seemed to set while Shirou turned to Arturia. They gazed deeply into each other's eyes, seeing the emotions, the experience, the pain, and the trust that existed between them.

"You're not alone. I'll say it hundreds of times just to make you realize it."

Arturia's brows seemed to come together as her eyes grew into of a somewhat irritated yet saddened expression. She didn't like the idea of being protected. As a king, she had protected her people and as a Servant, it should be no different. She opened her mouth to speak,

"Shirou, you can't possibl…"

Her words were cut off as Arturia felt a warm soft feeling on her lips. Her eyes wanted to grow larger yet against her wishes, they closed while Arturia returned the emotions and the love. In the few moments, all the anxiety and the time seemed to flow away. Arturia couldn't care less about the rest of the world while her lips were locked with the one she had to pro…No… The one who would protect her for once.

The crimson rays of the setting sun finally died out while the two pulled apart. Opening her eyes, a deep blush flowed into Arturia's cheeks, yet it was controlled by her stoic emotions. Shirou showed no signs of blushing at all. Instead, his eyes remained the stronger, still gazing into Arturia's. In their eyes, the reversal of roles seemed clear with Arturia as the one in need of help and Shirou as the guide.

Whispering ever so silently against the rising moon, Arturia said,

"_I…love you, Shirou_."

Another whisper returned, flowing with the air,

"_I love you, Arturia Pendragon._"

The crescent moon rose in full glory, bearing its light upon the two who were not lovers, but more. Rather, the two were one in soul and in mind where one could not live without the other. The world seemed to calm as the moonlight serenely continued its waltz.

However, in the distance, a familiar figure stood, a smug grin upon his face. His brown, auburn hair went with the wind. Shouting out, he spoke,

"Well, I'm sorry to interrupt your little serenade here, but I believe we have a match to finish?"

Arturia and Shirou looked up at the challenger, with his French armor and his hand and a half sword. Within moments, Arturia was in her armor in a dash of jet blue, charging in a nearly invisible blur to Rider. Smiling sadistically, Rider dodged the blow, side stepping Arturia with an instant response impulse.

"Well, well, Saber. Let's get this party started!"

* * *

Elsewhere under the serene moonlight, a dark alley stood. Under the shadows of the alley, a dark skulking figure seemed to blend with the shadows. However, rather than hiding, the shadow was darting at full pace, whipping itself from corner to corner.

As if by queue, a large, loud set of footsteps crashed through the alley. A monstrous roar was bellowed by this newcomer, who was an enormous figure. The dark shadow at last landed in the illumination of the moon, revealing a skull mask with an emaciated figure. From the shadows emerged the figure that had been chasing Assassin. His armor simply silver and rusted, his T-patterned helmet obscuring his face, an ornate fur coat made of wolf skin, and in his hand a long broad sword with a shield in the other, the figure stepped out.

Assassin gazed at the patterns in his armor and drew his knives. Throwing them, Assassin darted away. With amazing dexterity unlikely for such a figure of his stature, the larger figure dodged the knives and jumped higher than any other man could wish to ever jump. He whipped his sword at Assassin, striking its arm and screaming incoherently. Assassin let out a shrill shriek at the feeling of its arm disconnecting. Within moments, Assassin was once again thrown to the ground, leaving a deep crater in the street. The armored figure towered over Assassin and before it could regain its composure, the figure slashed madly at Assassin, cutting off other limbs and body parts. Black fog and liquid sprayed throughout the crater and the warrior's armor. At last, when the carnage stopped, the armored figure looked at his work.

Assassin was lying there, albeit severely wounded. With a slow sparkle, Assassin's body disintegrated into dark, black powder. The powder flowed into the air where it finally disappeared. With this, the warrior bellowed in triumph towards the sky, letting his victory be heard everywhere.

* * *

Zoken Mato watched in great interest as he saw through his orb a great distance away from the battle field, gazing as his Servant got destroyed by the large warrior yet no sign of its Master.

"I expected nothing less from Berserker," he said to himself.

Despite the loss of his Servant before his very eyes, Zoken remained generally calm. Turning back to the orb, he simply let out his hand and threw a skull mask into a red pentagon painted on the floor. He cut his finger and let the blood drop to the floor. With a flourish of his hands, black flames emanated from his hands. He pointed to the skull mask and shouted,

"Arise once again!"

The black flames began to take shape of a tall emaciated figure with a skull mask. As Assassin stepped out of the pentagon, Zoken turned back, chuckling to himself.

"It's wonderful to make the rules."

* * *

The fight between Arturia and Rider intensified with the sparks and clangs sounding and appearing sporadically throughout the night sky. Arturia, for the most part, seemed to be gaining the upper hand, though Rider in his self seemed to maintain his own fight.

Turning in mid air, Rider let his blade gather the moonlight, the night sky seemingly flowing into the blade as well as the darkness of space flow into his blade as well. Whipping his blade through the air, he shouted,

"_Flammes de Vengeance!"_

At that moment, the black and white flames leaped forth from the blade, dancing in a cyclone towards Arturia. Arturia, too, drew her blade back and let it collect the air and wind around it. With the aura of azure shining every so brightly around her blade, Arturia let the golden yellow essence wrap flow into her weapon. Shouting, Arturia brought her blade in the direction of the white and black torrent.

"Excalibur!"

The golden yellow force leapt forth, combating and colliding with the white and black flames. Both of the warriors kept their energy on their respective powers. The forces seemed to be balanced while Arturia pressed forth. Slowly but surely, the energies of Excalibur were overtaking Rider's own flames. Shouting once again, Arturia pressed the power of her scabbard into the force. In that moment, the yellow shined brighter, nearly illuminating the whole neighborhood. In a flash, the gold consumed the black and white, while Rider was thrown into the wall, a dent formed where he had collided.

Rider's armor was now crackling with golden energy from Excalibur. His head was bleeding from the impact. Despite his condition, Rider managed to stumble up with a small smile on his face,

"I..I…expected none less from Excalibur…"

Coughing, he felt himself fall while Arturia drew her blade up for the finishing blow. From behind her, however, Arturia heard Shirou yelp in pain. Darting her head back, she caught a glimpse of a figure out of sight who had a gleaming revolved aimed at Shirou's head.

In a sweet, feminine voice, the figure said,

"Now, now, Saber. Put down your blade or I'll put down your Master."

* * *

_I'm very sorry for the wait, once again. Thank you for the support, and I hope to be making more of these by the time my finals are over!_

_Thank you!_

_-Komina_


	11. Chapter 10

_Oh dear…What has happened. In a weird twist of events, I have had a 5 month delay. I apologize, but nevertheless, I am proud to see that I've gone all the way back to page 2. In any case, here's the chapter I promised 5 months ago. Sorry. T_T_

_-Komina_

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Chapter 10- Black Shadow

There stood Arturia, simply watching as the woman held a gun pointed at Shirou's back. Arturia grew worried, watching Shirou's face start to lose consciousness. Blood rushed through her head as she struggled to comprehend what to do.

"Cowardly tricks. Is that what you have resorted to Rider?" Arturia growled.

The broken warrior simply scoffed, spitting some blood out in the process. Before he could open his mouth however, the woman spoke.

"Silence Saber. I'll say it one last time. Put down your weapon or I put down your Master."

Arturia's eyes grew glaring as she slowly put her arm down, letting the blade touch the ground. With great hesitance, she finally loosened her grip on the weapon, letting it loosely remain around in her hands. The woman seemed to be satisfied by this and came out of the shadow.

Even in the dark, Arturia was able to recognize the features of the woman. She had glaring red hair and emerald eyes, very much the same as her Servant's. The woman spoke,

"Well Saber, it seems we have you in a corner here and that you have no other choice other than to simply obey our wishes and comply with them. So now I ask you, tell your master to hand over his command mantra."

Arturia simply glared, her face glowing in the night sky, saying,

"You know nothing of this at all. I won't simply bow down to a wretch like you."

The woman raised her eyes brows, letting a small smile crack across her tiny mouth. With a grin that was glaring with malice, she said,

"Well, I guess you've made your choice here. Farewell Saber and her Master. It's a great disappointment that you'll be the first ones to leave the war."

The woman raised her gun at Shirou's head and slowly put her finger to the trigger, allowing a small click to let the gun cock back. Shirou himself was too unfocused and unconscious to react to the sudden click. However, Arturia's face remained stoic and defiant,

"I wouldn't count on that, Master of Rider."

As confusion and doubt overtook the woman's face, the sound of a twang in the distance rang throughout the vast buildings. In an instant, the woman let out a scream as tens of arrows, gleaming light blue fell from the sky. The arrows began to pierce the roofs and even the very stone walls around the alley. The sky was illuminated with these hundreds of arrows flying throughout the air. The woman let out a piercing shriek as she was pierced by multiple arrows, her body dangling in the wall as her arms and legs were pinned onto it.

On the ground, Rider could only watch and reach out, attempting to save his Master, though his wounds were far too serious and grave to even move at all. At last the arrows stopped, with the woman nailed to the wall, blood seeping through her clothes. She let out a small whimper, tears falling from her face from the pure pain of literally being stuck to a wall.

From the air, a red cape fell from the sky with Rin sitting atop it. In an instant, the cape materialized into the familiar face of Rider, a bow in one hand and the arrows in the other. Rin pointed her head towards Shirou, with Archer nodding and picking him up, supporting him with his shoulders. Arturia, as well, tightened her grip on her blade and approached the Master pinned to the wall.

"Now it's our turn to question you. Who are you?"

The woman continued to cry and sob, her voice choked into incoherent mutters and mumbles of pain. Despite this, she managed to get a somewhat audible response, though completely scrambled due to her sobbing.

"M…mm..my name i..iss.. Anna…An..na Letr..oi..ke"

Arturia continued on,

"Why are you trying to attack us? Who gave you the authorization as a Master?"

"I d..oo.n't kn..ow. Thee..se…these pp..people came..and…offe..ered a wish..I could ..ha..ve"

This was her last response as she finally put her head down and stopped whimpering. Arturia's eyes widened as she pondered whether Anna was truly dead or had simply fainted. Placing her hand on Anna's neck, she felt a pulse, albeit a very faint one. In all this, Rider stood on the side, simply watching helplessly. Without hesitation, Arturia went over to Rider, her blade raised. Rider's face remained unchanged, simply watching the blade with resignation. In his croaked voice, he said,

If you're going to strike me down, then do so. I will have no qualms. After all, you are the…"

Rider was cut off as everyone heard Anna's scream again, though muffled. Turning her head, Arturia saw Anna, though what she saw next was beyond anything she had ever seen. It was as if the shadows themselves had come alive. Slowly but surely, the shadows were rising from the ground. Archer was fending them off from Rin and Shirou while Anna was simply being slowly consumed by the shadows, her eyes widening and her screams growing quieter and muffled as the shadows consumed her mouth as well. The last that Arturia saw of her was her widened eyes, tears running down as at last her whole body was consumed by the shadows.

Rider simply watched in horror, screaming,

"Master!"

For the first time in the war, Rider began to feel the burning sense of anger and hatred pierce his eyes, tears flowing down yet his eyes still resolute and filled with a great sense of fury. Slowly stumbling up, he lifted his blade and lifted his blade towards the moon. With a great fury and sorrow, Rider began swing his blade wildly as the moonlight began to seep into the blade, turning the blade a jet black which Arutira had not seen before. In a few moments, the blade was crackling with black energy, whipping the ground and glowing with a great lamination. He lifted his blades towards the approaching shadows, screaming,

"_Luna Celeste!_"

The black energy zapped from the blade, ripping the approaching shadows apart. As he continually swung, Arturia and the rest were simply watching in awe at the sudden infusion of power and anger that Rider had suddenly gotten. Without turning, Rider shouted,

"You! Leave now! I shall permit and though I may not have long left in this world, I will make sure that this monstrosity pays!"

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Nodding in understanding, Arturia began to leap away from the alley with Archer towards the roof, where they quickly and swiftly retreated towards the dojo.

Rider faced the shadow with his blade, still zapping from the energy that it had just released. Lifting the blade, Rider spotted a figure walking towards him from the alley. All he saw was a white head of hair and a girl, laughing, her eyes red and her clothes black. Anger filled him once again, as he roared,

"You are the whore that killed my Master! Face me now!"

The girl simply laughed, lifting her arms as the shadows lunged towards Rider. Rider dodged the shadows, letting them slam into the wall behind him, feeling the air from the sudden dodges of the shadows. As he rushed forwards, he parried the shadows, which were as hard as any other sword he had blocked. However, no matter how many shadows he blocked, there always seemed to be more coming towards him.

Eventually, Rider felt a sharp burning pain in his leg as he bit his tongue to avoid shouting in pain. Looking down, he saw that one of the black blades had pierced his leg. Simply slicing the blade off with his sword, Rider attempted to run forwards, though he fell down. Rider then felt the sharp pain in his leg, though there was no blade. Instead, he saw that his leg was slowly turning black, the armor as well turning corrupted and rusted. Realizing that he had all but lost his mobility, Rider lifted his blade up in the air one last time, but before he could do so, tens of blades pierced Rider in various places of his body. Feeling the blackness consuming him, Rider's eyes widened, his body beginning to lost control as if another being were taking control of his body.

Rider was left helpless as he saw the girl walk up to him, laughing and staring at his face. Behind her, a giant shadow shaped in the form of a fanged mouth appeared, ready to consume Rider. Simply snorting, Rider painstakingly reached towards his back belt, fighting against the shadows which prevented him from moving. When at last Rider reached his horn, he held it in both his hands and looked straight at the girl.

As he began to feel his legs enter the mouth of the monster, Rider, with all the strength had had left, snapped the horn in half. As he snapped it, a white and black aura seemed to form around Rider's body. Clapping his hands together, a white orb formed in Rider's hands, growing larger and larger and more volatile to the point where the whole alley was crackling with this energy. Rider knew that he could not maintain this energy under control for long, but that was his intent; to self-destruct. Smiling, Rider looked at the girl, and with one last chuckle, he said,

"If I'm going, you're going with me to the depths of Hell."

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As Archer and Arturia jumped the roof, they were shaken by a large explosion fromwhere they had just left. Turning, Arturia saw a large white blast consume the blocks and houses nearby, essentially obliterating the alley. Turning her head, she continued on, realizing in her mind that Rider had perished from the war. As she jumped over the next building, however, a black limb popped in front og her, throwing her into the building's windows. With the shattering of the glass and the crunching of the impact, Arturia got back up. From the distance, she could see Archer and Rin attempting to get back at the building.

To her horror, however, Arturia began to feel the rush of air behind her, as she instantly dodged the black blades after her. However, one of the blades still pierced her armor. Stepping back, Arturia felt the armor begin to disintegrate. Lifting her blade, she shouted,

"Excalibur!"

A golden glow emanated from the blade, illuminating the whole building with the light of the holy blade. Within moments, the shadows were instantly incinerated in the bright onslaught of Excalibur. The shadows screeched and roared as they were consumed by the light. When at last all the shadows were gone, Arturia put her blade down. Without notice, she felt a sharp pain in her chest where her armor had previously been, only to see that she was partially bleeding. Feeling the fatigue and the blood loss catch up to her, Arturia fell over and let the blackness take her away…

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Next Day

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The golden glow of the day hit the room, dancing through the windows and the sliding door. Arturia felt the light hit her eyes, causing her to open her eyes to see around her. To her great surprise, she found that she was in a futon. On her chest, there were bandages, fresh and white. As she struggled to remember what had caused her injury, she was brought back to the incidents of the night before: Rider's death, the shadows, and her injury. Most of all though, the loss of her armor was a heavy blow to her as her armor provided the protection from magic from other Masters. It seemed all too much for her to comprehend, that all these events had simply happened in the event of one night.

Getting up, Arturia dressed up and walked towards the kitchen, where she was greeted by the usual crew, excluding Sakura, who was gone to school along with Taiga. As she sat down, Arturia and the rest discussed the events of the last night, what the shadow was, and how to deal with one less Servant. However, when they got to the subject of Arturia's armor, Rin's face cracked into a smile.

"Oh, I knew that your armor was lost, Saber. It should be no problem at all though. The only issue is that you don't mind the armor being different from your ordinary armor do you? I only had limited matierials."

Arturia smiled, and spoke in a soft voice,

"No Rin, a warrior can use any armor to any use. It would not matter as to what its appearance it. If enemies shall laugh at my armor because it is ridiculous, they won't be laughing when their heads fall on the ground."

Shirou and Archer felt sweatdrops forming on the back of their heads.

Rin exclaimed excitedly,

"Well Saber, come and put on your armor then!"

Arturia nodded and stood up with Rin to the other room, leaving Shirou and Archer alone in the toom with Ilya. Between the three, there was only silence. As Shirou sat, Archer simply closed his eyes and seemed to be mediatating. After a while, Shirou could no longer take the silence,

"Do you ever talk?!"

Archer simply looked up, opening his eyes in the slightest,

"Not to idiots like you who desire death at every turn they have."

Shirou simply sighed and went back to waiting, resigned to the fact that he was neither going to ever get Archer to talk and, grudgingly, never be as cool as Archer.

However, his thinking was interrupted when Arturia walked into the room. What Shirou saw made his jaw drop.

Arturia's armor was no longer the navy blue that she always wore. The skirt was shorter and the fabric was white. Her arms were sleeveless and her back was exposed, added to the fact that her hair was no in a ponytail with a black ribbon. Though Shirou knew that this was all for supporting speed and agility, he could only say one thing in his mind,

_Oh my God…._

Ilya was simply ecstatic, saying

"You look so pretty, Saber-chan!"

"Thank you, Ilya," Arturia said with a smile.

Archer, as usually, remained silent in his stoic self.

Rin was, though, broke the silence and simply said,

"Well, are we going to stand around here all day? Let's go and find more Masters now that we have one less Servant to deal with!"

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_I apologize for the crappiness of this chapter. It's 2 A.M., and I really wanted to finish this bad. But nevertheless, it's finished and may be up to editing later on, so be sure to point out any glaring errors in the page!_

_Please enjoy and until the next chapter, stay frosty! =D_

_-Komina_


	12. Back in Business

Dear FanFiction Community,

Now that college applications are over, I CAN GO BACK TO WRITING AGAIN!

I am terribly sorry for any emotional, physical, or mental stress that has occurred (though I doubt that happened) XD.

I got my inspiration back from watching what I believed was an incredibly disappointing Unlimited Blade Works movie but nonetheless, I'm going back to writing.

Best Wishes,

Komina


	13. Chapter 11

_Author's Pre-Write:_

_Ahhh, after months of college apps, I'm free. _

_Sorry!_

_Expect some more later but as a gift for waiting this long, here is a 4,800 word chapter!_

_Oath of Memories- I'll think about that, since I'm following the original Fate route where Archer has no memory. However, I'll see about it. Also, I'm happy to see I'm not alone on UBW's failure. TT_TT_

_Bradley McCloud- Thank you for pointing that out. I just made a new plotline thanks to that suggestion!_

_Professor Stein- That'll definitely be used! Thank you!_

_Any other suggestions on Fate/Stay Night or this story are accepted!_

_Enjoy!_

Chapter 11- Grendel

A black plume of smoke reached into the sky, licking the clouds of the nighttime of Fuyuki City. It seemed to be moving of a mind of its own, bending and flying to the very sky which it touched. Out of the smoke came a figure in the shape of a man in armor, heavily battered as if the whole body has been pierced, but alive nonetheless. His left arm was nothing more than a bleeding stump from above his elbow. Upon his shoulder, laid like a sack, was another figure, smaller in form. This small figure was within the last breathes, fighting against the death and the pierces in her arm.

Panting heavily, the figure finally stepped out of the plume of smoke, revealing a man with the remnants of broken armor across his chest yet contrasted by the brilliance of his emerald eyes. Looking upon the woman on his shoulder, his emerald eyes seemed to soften for a moment. He could only manage the smallest of smiles.

_She's alive…_

The woman on his shoulder remained unconscious as he walked away from the burning fumes of the alleyway. The fire and smoke seemed to have attracted the attention of the local departments as Rider heard the calls of the sirens blearing into the air from the distance.

_Must get out of here…._

He grimaced at the pitiful state of his legs. Battered and bleeding, it already took an enormous effort to walk yet he was required to jump. His horn was of no use anymore, his valuable friend and weapon destroyed in a last ditch attempt. He could only look at the cracked horn now hanging uselessly from his belt like an unused limb. To his fortune, the horn's explosive powers upon its destruction were only side effects. The true power remained in reviving all those who were to be killed, allowing for his Master to be revived within an inch of her life.

_The black daggers seemed to be flying everywhere…_

_Rider needed to get a clear view of what was within these shadows and find his Master while the beast was still staggering from his attack. Frantic searching did nothing to help him, yet he was the sharpest eye of his time! How could he not detect one person?_

_Rider dashed into the flame caused by the horn and found his Master, lying there yet still alive!_

_Acting on impulse, Rider flew into the monster of the shadow and threw her on top of his shoulders, dashing out despite the constant flow of blood from his legs, but not before glancing back to catch a gaze of what monster this was. There he saw her face…_

_The "monster" was nothing more than a….girl? _

_What kind of…._

_Her hair was white and her eyes a deep crimson read, yet despite all the carnage around her , she was simply smiling, a smile that never left her face as she regained her vision from Rider's attack. Rider knew that face from somewhere but where?_

_His thoughts were interrupted by a black dagger whipping past his face, bringing an end to his speculation. She seemed to laugh again and with it, a whole tide of blades came flying towards Rider. Acting on impulse, he shielded his Master with his arm, feeling the searing pain make him want to scream. The blades tugged, dragging him towards the monster-girl._

_Rider's eyes turned to his blade on the ground and with effort, he had no other choice…_

_He reached for the blade, barely gripping its pommel and with a giant swing, he aimed right above his elbow. Searing pain surged through his body while his severed arm was dragged into the black hole that the girl had created. He screamed into the air only for a moment and took flight as quick as God would permit him to fly. _

_However, his legs were starting to fail him. He couldn't run, he couldn't anymore… _

_A spark ignited in his brain however. Gripping his hand, he shouted out to the sky._

"_Veillantif!" _

_As Rider ran, a snow white horse appeared to his side, allowing for Rider to quickly jump onto its back. He rode away, the black daggers barely behind his back. However, the speed of Veillantif was far superior to those of daggers, which began to dissipate as they went farther from their master. _

_Without turning back, he dashed and rode. To hell with honor and chivalry, he was fighting not only for his survival but also for his Master's. He constantly ran, never looking back. It came to the point where he finally reached the top of an apartment building. From there, everything turned black…_

Hence, Rider had awoken here, in the plumes of the fire he had caused the night before. Mustering some form of strength, Rider inscribed one message in his head: kill those who had nearly killed him and his Master.

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Unknown to Rider, there was a man watching him from the side of the apartment. His stature was one of a considerably tall man in fine form. However, despite having a youthful face, he showed signs of age that were unknown to the body of those of his age. His face seemed to bear the weight of time and sorrow, watching Rider with sleek, glaring blue eyes. His hair was white as bone, slicked back. He wore the robes of what seemed to be that of a Magi. Upon his back was a symbol belonging to some organization of sorts. Watching the Servant jump from building to building without any interest, he felt a figure behind him, already knowing who it was.

"Berserker, I want you to track down these people and find out where they're headed for."

The air behind the man seemed to disappear, instead reforming into a form of the enormous knight. Simply grunting, he resumed his invisible state and with a great dash of air, he jumped with dexterity and landed with surprising silence. Watching with satisfaction, the man turned away, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a small phone and flipped it open. Upon calling, another man's voice answered the end of the phone.

"Have you gotten any farther yet?"

"I've found a second Servant. It seems someone has somehow recreated the Grail," replied to man with white hair.

"Impossible! I remember destroying and dismantling it myself!"

The man on the other side of the phone grumbled for a few moments incoherently until he suddenly went silent, seemingly having grasped an idea of what had happened. With a triumphant yet spiteful voice, he spoke,

"There's only one man who I know could do this…"

"Mato," both of them replied at the same time.

"Then it is clear? Rearrange your duties. Your primary target is now Zoken Mato. Byakko, I expect this to be done cleanly and quickly, understood?"

Byakko laughed quietly to himself,

"Do not worry. This war is long overdue to be finished. All those who have recalled this will be destroyed."

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Searching for traces of Masters or Servants was far easier said than done. Shirou was nearly out of breathe despite having simply walked, and the sun was beginning to set on the horizon. Arturia remained behind him, searching for any traces but to no avail. It seemed as if the whole world had simply forgotten about the Servants.

Near dead and mentally exhausted, Shiruo found a bench to sit on, coincidentally the same one from the last war he had sat on. With a sigh of relief at finally resting his body, his closed his eyes while Arturia took her seat next to him.

The wind flowed through the park like the flow of a river. It was here, Shirou remembered, where he had been found within a half-inch of death, only to be picked up by Kiritsugu. What events had transpired before that he now knew to be the result of Kotomine's wish for every living thing within a remote distance to be killed. Only through the efforts of Avalon did Shirou survive. With the last war, he now no longer possessed it, having been given to Arutria to augment her power in preparation for Gilgamesh. To some degree, Shirou wished he had Avalon once more as he had gained a degree of extraordinarily quick healing capabilities as well as a degree of power that he never knew within him. These doubts were quickly dispelled as he turned his head to the right, gazing at the pair of olive-green eyes staring at him. He seemed to be lost in them, wanting to stare at the eyes forever. Unfortunately, this trance lasted for only a minute.

"Shirou, why are you staring at my eyes like that?"

Shirou snapped out of his little dream-trance and was bluntly thrown back to reality.

"Oh…I was just thinking about what had happened here. It seems so long ago yet it's only been five months hasn't it?"

Arturia smiled with a slight twinge of happiness,

"Indeed it has, Shirou. Yet we sit here, five months later with the same task at hand as we did before. I had rather hoped we'd be sitting here as two simply gazing into the sky without worry."

The sun was beginning to die away, fading into the horizon of the oncoming night. The moon took rise over the horizon. Shirou gazed upwards with Arturia as the stars began to illuminate the skies with their presence, bringing the feel of luminescence. It was as if Heaven was touching their heads.

Yet Shirou knew that the stars were to eventually disappear. Turning to Arturia, he was all too aware of the possibilities of the end of the war. It would not only mean taking away lives to ensure this end but also that she would be lost again…

"Arturia," he suddenly asked without hesitation,

"What's going to happen at the end of the war?"

Arturia frowned ever so slightly. She gazed down at her feet, shuffling them across the ground. For some reason, this was slightly discomforting to Shirou. He knew Arturia better than any other person and nervousness was not one of her known traits. Without looking up at Shirou, Arturia continued to shuffle her feet, creating a small dust cloud in the process.

"I've long been thinking of this too, Shirou. We cannot ignore this matter forever," she replied with a tone of what seemed to be despair and nostalgia. It hurt Shirou to see her like this, to see her so weak and unsteady. However, Arturia lifted her head and gazed into Shirou's eyes.

"Don't worry Shirou. I've come to terms with myself. There is no longer any need to return back to my time as all debts and duties have been completed," she replied, sighing afterwards.

"However, it seems that my past is never to leave me. Either I return to it or it pursues me." Arturia could well remember two Wars before, with the memory of Lancelot still fresh within her mind. Forced to kill the closest person she considered as a brother, it broke her to go through with her task. It seemed so that this was to occur again with Gawain, another man she felt the bond that could only be achieved by that of family.

_Cruel irony, _she thought to herself sardonically. However, Arturia knew she was not alone. She looked at the pair of hazel eyes gazing at her, ever so concerned as Shirou had the unfortunate tendency of stretching too far. But it was in these eyes that Arturia found something she has so long earned for, something that could not be found in the deepest treasures of the world nor within the adventures of the Knights of the Round Table. She knew it right there, right then, what she had truly desired as a wish was already achieved. Shirou had seen through her not as a King or a legend but as a person, as someone she could care for. It was this care that made it all the more important for her to last through out this war.

Shirou, noticing this mental battle within Arturia, stood up and offered his hand to Arturia. As if by some silent message, Arturia smiled and let herself be taken by Shirou's hand. Her hand within his, they walked together closely with each other along the smooth concrete path back to the dojo. As they continued their walk, the sky began to grow colder, the clouds darkened in a dark blue to begin sprinkling the white small flakes of snow.

Winter had come and the snowdrops paved the way for the two to return home…

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Rin had long returned home quite a while ago. It seemed an eternity to Rin, where she had contemplated that either Shirou and Saber were far too romantic for their own good or she was to deduce that they had been ambushed by some ridiculously powerful Servant, which, at this early stage, seemed quite unlikely. Her suspicions were confirmed by the arrival of the couple through the door.

Rin simply raised an eyebrow,

"So, Shirou and Saber…Where were you?"

"My apologies, Rin. Shirou and I were caught up in the park. We rested there before tiredness took over," Arturia replied calmly.

Rin simply heaved a breath and stood up, knowing full well that Shirou would probably have an excuse far more whimsical than she could take. She approached the futon and bid everyone good night, deciding to call it a day. Her search had yielded absolutely no traces of a Magus or Servant, even with Archer's superhuman senses. Either these Masters were extremely good at hiding or they had taken no action at all.

_Ahhh….too much thinking_, she moaned in her mind. Indeed, it was too much as Rin fell asleep literally as she touched the futon.

Outside, Arturia and Shirou were still sitting at a table where the two were discussing events of the day and simple idle talk. In some manner, the discussion had been redirected towards the subject of snow that was now falling. Shirou and Arturia decided upon to take a short walk to see the snow for themselves. Arturia had not seen the snow since her last lifetime in Camelot and was eager to see it once again.

The walk seemed paved with white and ice, glossed by the bright reflections of the snow. Arturia was clad in a beige jacket and a scarf wearing a small beanie that Shirou had borrowed from Taiga's wardrobe that she usually left in his house. Quite frankly, Shirou was flabbergasted at how she managed to remain as adorable as she did while still having the finesse and rage of a lion. In this fashion, they walked along the trail that led to the park nearby.

Unknown to them as they laughed and stood next to each other, a man was trailing them. His bleached white hair was all but covered in the snow that now fell from the sky. He knew it, despite her dress and attire as a regular citizen, that the mana and sense that girl was giving off was that of either a being of extreme power or a Servant. However, he could not distinguish which one of the couple was the Servant as the orange-haired boy seemed to be giving off a bizarrely large amount of energy as well.

_Interesting, _he thought to himself. With a swipe of his hand, a gust of wind trailed behind him as Byakko felt the presence of Berserker in his area. His ice-cold eyes belied no sympathy. Despite the fact that the couple in front of him seemed innocent, he was given specific orders to exterminate all involved in the war. If these two beings of power were not involved, then who was to say who is?

"Berserker, kill them…" he spoke with a whisper.

In a flash, the invisible figure was now seen once more while his black armor and fur coat dragged behind him. Jumping with the giant sword in one hand, Berserker roared as his blade was an inch away from decapitating both the girl and the boy.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Shirou, watch out!"

Arturia had felt the wind before it could strike, in an instant she had pushed Shirou back and was equipped in her new armor. The white fabric blended with the snow while her hair blew with the wind in its ponytail. She swung Excalibur towards the giant blade, blocking its initial impact. Despite her strength, she was pushed back as well by the force of the blade.

Arturia immediately recovered, dashing towards Berserker and dodging his blade easily. As Berserker swung wildly, Arturia took this as an opportunity to jump onto the giant of a blade that Berserker held. She ran up the blade in a blur of black and white, slashing Berserker's helmet nonstop. Berserker wildly grabbed for his head while Arturia dashed back, avoiding the crushing grasp of the hand.

Arturia knew that this Berserker should be, by all possibilities, easier to defeat than Ilya's Berserker. While he still did retain his strength, even more so multiplied, he lacked the Ten Labours that Hercules had attained. In this manner, Berserker would only need to be killed once to end his life. With this in mind, Arturia maintained her sword stance once more while Berserker recovered, his helmet with multiple cuts marks which saw blood oozing from them.

Shirou had finally come to his senses and saw the towering figure in front of him. In an impulse, he imaged Kansha and Bakuya once more, throwing the blades in an arc that rotated around Berserker. The blades danced and multiplied, two blades becoming four until finally it seemed that a good thirty-two blades descended onto Berserker. Upon touching Berserker, each of the blades exploded in a brilliance of lights and fire.

As the smoke cleared, Shirou looked to Arturia, nodding to her. Berserker, however, seemed only to be annoyed by this, waving away the fire with his hand. Already, Berserker was beginning to lift his blade once more to strike. Shirou knew, despite his gained power, that one strike from that blade spelled his doom with no Rin or Avalon to save him this time.

_Dammit!_ Shirou thought to himself.

_Think of a weapon, think!_

One weapon came in mind. It was perfect from the last encounter Shirou had with Berserker. It was worth a try while Shirou imaged the blade in his head. The giant, brown and silver axe-sword appeared in his mind. Its texture and shape, the very pommel to the blunt edges.

_Remember, remember what you saw and its substance, its material_

The magic circuits in Shirou's body flared with gold, igniting a large projection within his hands. The flames lit the grounds, even attracting Berserker's attention. Shirou felt a great energy in his arms as if they were blessed with strength beyond imagining. He felt like a hero, like a monster, like a behemoth. At last, the blade was in his hands, the giant blunt axe-blade that Hercules had held: _Nine-Lives_.

With a seeming ease, Shirou heaved the weapon in the air while Berserker, oblivious to this new development, madly raised his blade towards Shirou's. Shirou roared as he brought down Nine-Lives upon the iron sword of Berserker. Sparks and air gusted from the crossing of the blades while both of the combatants were pushed back by the mere strength of the blow.

Shirou raised the blade again and charger towards Berserker, swinging the blade again towards Berserker's body. Berserker, however, brought his iron blade to block. Within moments, the iron blade was beginning to crack. Both fighters were in a stalemate while Berserker continued to growl and roar. The blade was now to its breaking point until at last, Berserker's giant blade had shattered in a cloud of iron and steel. Shirou brought Nine-Lives into Berserker's body, seeing his side pierced heavily. Berserker roared in rage and pain, blood pouring from the open armor wound. Before Shirou could land a finishing blow, he could no longer maintain the blade's constitution. The copy was soon broken as well in a shatter of dust. Arturia stepped in front of Shirou as he stepped aside. Their eyes met, hazel upon emerald, with an innate message passed onto each other.

Berserker stumbled to the ground, his knees staggering while blood continued to pour from the weeping laceration that Shirou had inflicted upon Berserker. Arturia saw her chance and without an order from Shirou, summoned the power of Excalibur. Wind began to caress the blade while the blue energy of mana crackled around Arturia. The blade began to shine with a luminescent glory while golden air wrapped itself around Excalibur. Wind blew across the plain which blew all the snow off the path of Excalibur. Shining in the full glory of the night stars, Arturia brought the blade across her body and above her head, ready to strike with all her might. She raised her blade and with one mighty shout, she cried,

_Excalibur!_

A golden blast was immediately thrown from Excalibur, raging in the path of the snow and gathering power in a tornado of blue and gold. The energy blast seemed to be waltzing through the air until at last it met its intended target. The rage of energy hit Berserker full on his body and head, shattering his armor beyond all existence. Berserker screamed and roared while his body was slowly being burned away and disintegrated by the sheer awe of Excalibur. Within moments, the blast had lost its full momentum and all that was left were the charred remains of what used to be Berserker.

Panting heavily, Arturia sheathed her blade. Shirou, breathing with relief, was about to sit down. However, the white-haired man approached from the shadows, clapping slowly as he walked calmly towards the pair.

"Very good, excellent display of power. I would've never thought it possible for a Servant and a Master to maintain such a powerful connection. As it stood, my Servant didn't stand a single chance against yours for even the slightest moment."

Shirou was as confused as Arturia. Had they not just destroyed his Servant, a Berserker to boot? If at all, this man should be cowering or running away in fear. Shirou needed answers. Something didn't feel right, as if the fight had never ended.

"Who are you? You have no threats at all now that your Servant is gone!" Shirou shouted.

The white-haired man simply laughed it off, waving his off to Shirou. He seemed so calm that it unsettled Shirou. Arturia seemed to be slightly suspicious of his behavior that seemed to be all too calm for the situation.

"Forgive the lack of introductions. I am Bartholomew Byakko von Transar, Enforcer of the Mage's Association. I've come under specific instructions that this War is unsanctioned and unapproved by the Guild. Henceforth, I've come under orders to enforce a Sealing Desigantion upon all participants."

Shirou was now confused beyond doubt.

"What's a Sealing Designation?"

Byakko snorted._ Apparently the orange-haired boy is nothing more than a novice in these terms of matter so magic or the Mage's Association._

"It's simple. I destroy you all and wipe out evidence. If you cooperate, I can ensure that you will have a fair trial before the Mage's Council. Now please, if you wish to even have this chance, I advise you destroy your Servant now or pass over the Command Spells."

Shirou was incensed. This man, submitted, had the nerve to ask for Arturia? It made his blood boil and before he could stop himself, Shirou shouted,

"To hell with you!"

Byakko raised his eyebrows, "Pity. It seems that you'll have to be killed then."

Arturia stepped in, "What weapons do you have? You're harmless now, and any magic you cast is completely ineffective against me. Just surrender!"

"Oh, I beg to differ, Servant Saber…" Byakko replied with a distinct smirk on his face.

A growl rumbled the ground behind Arturia and Shirou as they gazed upon the remains of Berserker now having risen. The bones seemed to have recreated themselves into a giant monster distorted beyond all recognition of what Berserker had formerly been. The head was now seemingly shaped of that of a lion with a black mane that seemed to be brimming with needles. His fangs spanned the size of Shirou's arm while his skin was a metallic black. The red crimson eyes homed upon Shirou and Arturia, the size of the beast now towering that of Berserker. It seemed that Berserker was now the size of Shirou's home. The giant claw bore down upon the concrete, shattering all that was in its way.

Arturia immediately brought her blade up but not in time before she was swiped in the back. Her back, exposed from the lack of armor, now bore the marks of three claws upon it. She was bleeding, but ever so slightly. The effects of Avalon overtook the poison that had attempted to enter her body and within seconds, the wound was gone. However, Shirou was not as lucky. He had been simply scratched but the poison was overtaking his body quick. He was dying.

"Shirou!" Arturia shouted.

Byakko laughed from the back behind the monster. _Sometimes, _he thought, _it's too fun to have this job. The suffering and the misery. Have them beg for mercy!_

"I see you enjoy my new friend, Grendel! I gave you a chance and you squandered it. Prepare to die for that!"

Berserker prepared to bring his claw upon Shirou when a green and white blast impaled his hand onto the ground. The beast screamed in anger and looked towards the sky where a figure, clad in armor shining from the moon. He brought his giant green axe down upon the beast's head. Blood spurred from the wound while Grendel screamed from the pain. He swiped at his head, catching the knight's foot. Arturia instantly recognized the knight: Gawain or, as he was known by others, Lancer.

"Gawain!" she cried.

He turned his head, his helmet thrown off by the beast. His green emerald eyes seemed to betray no fear. Gripping his axe tightly, he turned towards Arturia. His eyes seemed softer than the last time they met on the streets.

"Arturia, I can't bear to watch my former lord in pain. You'd be lucky I happened to scout across this area."

Arturia ran towards Shirou, as the beast was distracted, laying her hands on Shirou. He seemed to be dying and spewing blood from his mouth. Foam formed around the mouth while the poison seemed to take a full effect on his body. Calling upon the powers of Avalon, Arturia alleviated the poison in a flash of light, exterminating the last trace of the toxin. Shirou seemed to recover, gaining consciousness once more. She placed Shirou on her shoulders, gazing at Gawain. He seemed to understand.

"Go, Arturia. But remember, I do this only to repay the debt that I owed you before I died. After this, no more attachments to the past shall remain."

Nodding, Arturia dashed into the sky, carrying Shirou but worrying deep within her body as to the fate of her old knight and friend.

Back at the street, Gawain stood in front of the gargantuan beast. It brought him back to the day when he faced demons and dragons alongside Lancelot, Kay, and Arturia. Nostalgia had no place, however, and he raised his axe.

"Come you beast of hell, let me show you what nightmares are truly made of…"

_**IT'S 5 IN THE MORNING, ZOMG**_

_**Thanks for reading, I'll try to me updated!**_

_**Feedback, suggestions are all welcome!**_


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